


Healer

by theforceofdarkandlight



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Blood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 49,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22702921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theforceofdarkandlight/pseuds/theforceofdarkandlight
Summary: You’re medically trained and somehow end up meeting the Mandalorian when he’s injured and needs help…over time maybe you become more than a crew member to him.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Din Djarin/Reader, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Reader, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/You
Comments: 106
Kudos: 514





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> ~Cross-posted from my tumblr of the same username~

Despite being much smaller than he was, you had one arm wrapped around the Mandalorian’s waist, his left arm reluctantly around your shoulder, as you helped him slowly up onto the Razor Crest. He had returned from turning in his recent bounty, and this last job was evidently a trying one. He was very unsteady as he walked back to his ship, where you were playing with the child, waiting for him to get back. You had run over to him as soon as you saw him.

“You’re not going to be able to help much if we’re both on the ground,” Din grunted as he leaned onto you, worried about crushing you.

“Yeah, well, the little one can get us back up if that happens,” you playfully snapped back. You helped him over to the cot and he sighed a breath of relief as he sat down. You let his arm off your shoulder, and for a second you think you feel him resisting, as if not wanting to lose contact. _He’s weak and tired - it’s nothing_ , you think to yourself.

“Thank you,” Din said, “I think I can clean this one up pretty well myself.”

“You can’t fix all your wounds with a lighter, Din.”

It had been weeks, months since you joined him as somewhat of a crew member aboard his ship, but Din was still often hesitant to let you help; even if it was what you were there to do. 

~

In a past life, your job was to heal. You’d had years of medical training, and it was what you once spent your time doing. Things were different now, after everything. People like you were far and few, and help was often unwanted. So you stopped, and started picking up ‘dirty’ errands instead. But one day, you were on your way to the village to pick up another job, when you saw him - the Mandalorian. You’d never met one directly, but you knew the stories. He’d had a minor injury to his arm, one he’d attempted to patch up himself with some gauze. You don’t know why he trusted you enough to stop you and ask, but he’d told you he needed help getting medical supplies - he was currently on a ‘wanted’ list, and was not able to go to the shops himself. 

“I can help. Just stay right there,” you’d immediately told him. It had been long since you’d treated someone, but you still remembered the skills. Something told you it might be dangerous if you were caught helping him, but you felt that there was kindness behind all his composure, even though you couldn’t see his expressions. You quickly went to gather everything you needed, and headed back out to him.

“Where do you want to do this?”

“Do what?” he asked, reaching for the supplies.

“Where do you want me to apply all of this?”

He started to shake his head and protest, but you interrupted.

“Surely you don’t think I would let you do this yourself. I’m medically trained - please, let me help,” you said, gently pushing his hand away as he tried to hand you payment.

The Mandalorian said nothing, just looked at you with a slight tilt of the head.

“Please. Let me help. You’re safe with me - I know the troubles in this village and I won’t lead you into any.”

He gave you a nod after some hesitation, and started walking towards the forest. Din knew the only safe place he could bring you was aboard the Razor Crest. You understood - the wound would need cleaning, something that required privacy - so you followed him.

It was shortly after that day that Din had awkwardly asked you to join him, to help him and his kid. It would’ve been a hard goodbye for you if he hadn’t asked - you had quickly fallen in love with the child he had been hiding. You had thought the reason he was on a list was because of something more…malicious. But when he explained to you how he came to get this child, your impression of him softened even more. While he never said much, you two had grown closer over the last few weeks. You didn’t know why, because even though he was all armor, you felt this pull towards him, a deeper connection to him as a person, even without seeing his face. Despite his profession, he was softer than you expected. He was obviously new to caretaking, but made every effort to do his best. And when he spoke to you, it was as if he used a gentler voice than with anyone else he interacted with.

You didn’t know it, but he felt similarly about you. He watched you play with the child; you had an obvious nurturing instinct that he followed in example. You were reserved, too, but you said more than he did, and it made him happy to hear you talk about your life and your past adventures. He found you endearing, and he was slowly realizing that, like with the child, he would do anything to protect you.

~

After you put the child in his pod, you went back and kneeled on the floor next to Din, gently inspecting the damage while he watched you unwrap the supplies you needed. Your quick mind & thinking had always been admirable to him. He often watched you while you patched him up, even when you thought he was looking away. You were good at what you did - you often had to be firm with him, but somehow you always made him feel safe. It had been a long time since anything, or anyone, made him feel safe.

Once you figured out this would take a bit of time to fix, you looked up at him. “This is going to need a bit of cleaning - there’s a lot of blood, and I suspect there’s more that I can’t see.” Din looked at you, waiting for directions.

“…So, I’m going to have to peel back the fabric in a few of these spots to properly treat the wounds,” you add, hoping he understood. You’d helped him many times now, but it was rare that he had to actually expose his skin to you, as most of his injuries had been minor.

He stilled. Din figured you would have to do this eventually, but he blushed at the thought of you touching his bare skin with your delicate hands. He was glad you couldn’t see his face in that moment. Your hair was up like it usually was, but little wisps were falling in front of your face, and your eyes were heavy, likely from the long day you’d had yourself. Din repressed the urge to gently sweep the strands out of your way, and nodded for you to go ahead. You tell him that there could be more damage under the helmet, but of course he insisted that he could fix anything on his face himself later on, if needed.

“Okay, your right arm looks worse so I’ll start there.” You moved his arm so that his palm was face up. His sleeve was made of a thick fabric, but it was torn anyways, so you carefully cut and pulled it back to expose the wound underneath, hoping it hadn’t dried down yet. His inner forearm had a long, deep gash - far worse than you could tell with it covered. You looked at him again.

“Din, what kind of bounty were you dealing with this time?” you asked softly. “Not another mudhorn, was it?” you teased.

“Not the worst one I’ve had to recover from,” he answered. He was in pain, and many parts of him stung and ached, but all of that was dampened when he looked at you, with your concerned gaze and furrowed brow. How you were able to care about someone like him, someone who did things that he did, he wasn’t sure. He’d never received this much kindness before. In the past, the shopkeepers would toss him a medicated patch and call it a day. But you had a good soul, and he knew that. Your selflessness and affectionate attention for him and for the child were new to him, and he wished he knew how to reciprocate.

You began to clean the wound, first wiping away all of the blood and then cleaning it with the septic solution. As you were cleaning, you subtly put your other hand gently on his gloved fingers, giving him something to grip onto. Din was tense, but he was still looking at you, slightly dazed and distracted by your fingers gently brushed against his. You began to suture the cut, and you could tell he was grimacing behind the helmet.

“I’m sorry,” you said, smiling weakly. “I’ll be quick with it.” You finished that arm and moved to the next, this one only having minor scrapes. He had another cut on his leg, and you patched that up as well. There was a lot of bruising all over, but you couldn’t do much for those except let them heal.

“Alright, I think that’s the worst of it. Can you lean back so I can check if anything’s broken?” You asked, knowing Din wouldn’t be comfortable with it. He didn’t answer for a few seconds, but started, with your help, to lift his legs onto the cot. Din knew he was within his mental boundaries, but he still blushed heavily. He leaned back against the wall of the ship. You gently reached behind his back and shoulders to make sure nothing was dislocated. You were closer to him now, looking into his visor as if you could see through to his eyes. He was the patient here, but your pulse quickened, too.

“Any severe pain here?” you asked, still looking at him.

“No,” he managed to say.

“Good.” Your fingers lingered on his shoulder for a moment, both of you looking at each other. Din’s heart was racing now, and he was almost sure you could hear it. Your eyes were soft and questioning, but he couldn’t tell if that was the healer in you, worried about her patient, or if there was something more there. An expression of longing instead of concern. Before he could analyze you any further, you moved away and went to clean up the mess you’d made of the supplies.

“Wait,” he called softly, nearly whispering.

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

~

Later that night, Din opened his eyes, blinking a few times before re-orienting himself. He was still on the cot, in full armor, and everything still ached. It was dark now, all the lights were off, and you were likely asleep with the child on your cot on the other side of the ship. He thought of how you must look when you slept, peacefully and comfortably curled up. He rarely saw you after you went to sleep, but he longed for your late-night intimate conversations, ones that were intensified by the background of a quiet night dimly lit by the stars.

He knew you likely attributed his resistance to your help because of the way he lived. But the truth was, he was afraid to let you touch him because of all the feelings he’d started having, and how far those feelings might take him the more he allowed himself to become closer to you.

Din sighed. He was falling deeper than he realized, and he had no idea how to stop.


	2. Two

It was cold when you opened your eyes. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours since you fell asleep, so the sun probably wasn’t even up yet. You lazily sat up and pushed the rough blankets off yourself, rubbing the exhaustion out of your eyes. You and Din had spent the last couple of nights repairing the Razor Crest, as it had been damaged from the last shootout a few weeks ago - another pretentious bounty hunter that thought they had a better chance than they actually did. You landed on a new planet afterwards, but couldn’t find anyone capable of handling the repair, so the two of you were left to deal with it alone.

You stumbled off the cot and up to the cockpit, where Din was already up and doing some calibration checks. 

“Good morning,” you said, “Did you even get any rest last night?”

“Yes. I was up a couple of hours ago,” he replied.

“You consider two hours of sleep ‘rest’?” you joked. 

“On a good day,” he said, and you knew he wasn’t kidding.

You heard the child gurgling happily from his makeshift seat. You picked him up and held him the way he liked, and went to stand next to Din, who was fidgeting with some buttons and switches. 

“Do you think it’s stable enough for us to fly now? If not, I know this planet doesn’t have many resources, but that might be a good thing. It’s secluded and it’d be hard for anyone to bother us here,” you told him. You’d been on this planet for a couple of weeks now, and had yet to run across much trouble.

“We should be able to leave tonight. It’ll take a bit of time for me to look up another planet. The longer we stay put, the easier we are to track,” Din told you softly, but with concern. These were more reminders to you than anything. You knew this was how it had to be. You’d been on many planets now, and the two of you had a routine going. It wasn’t necessarily a life in hiding, just one where you always needed to be on edge. But with Din by your side, you were never truly afraid.

You looked down at the child, who was already falling asleep. His naps were often longer than yours or Din’s sleeping hours. You smiled and gently put him down in the pod. 

“Before you found the child, did you still have to relocate this much?” you asked, curious. 

“I was able to stay in one place for longer periods of time,” he told you. “But I still had to relocate often.”

“It’s not that I mind moving around,” you explained. “Because seeing all these planets, traveling with the kid, and with you…it reminds me of what I used to do. I loved being a healer. I got to see so many things. I never had one place to call home, but I was okay with it because I got to help so many. Or at least, I helped as best as I could.” _Why were you rambling on about this to him?_ You asked yourself. 

His head was tilted to the side as he listened to you.

“And…I know you worry a lot about safety, for all of us. But I–I’m happy here,” you said, your voice getting quieter. _And I’m happy to be around you_ , you wanted to say. “I wanted to thank you for taking me on,” you finally said.

Din was quiet for a moment, unsure of how to respond. He had asked himself many times how he could ever reciprocate everything you’d done for him. You helped him with his ship, his work, and with the kid, all on top of fixing every single injury he’d gotten, no matter how minor. You helped him feel at ease, and he had never felt more…seen…than when he was with you. And you thought you needed to thank _him_? He’d never admit it, but sometimes your compassion towards him stayed with him throughout the night, thoughts of you and him lingering in his mind - thoughts he once tried to suppress. He would look at the kid and would automatically picture you there, smiling at him, teasing him in the way that you tended to.

“Thank you,” were the only words Din could find to say. “For joining us.”

You gave him a small smile, mildly embarrassed at how much you’d said and how awkward your sentiment must have sounded.

“I’m going to go check the medical kit and make sure we have everything we need before we go,” you told him. You softly touched his arm through the thick fabric, and he responded with a slight nod before you went. You didn’t hear it, but he let out a quiet breath after you walked away. You had been travelling with him for nearly a year now, but he had not gotten any better at desensitizing himself to the electricity he felt when you were near him. Combine that with all of the times you fixed him up (both mentally and physically), practically looking into his soul with those bright, concerned eyes, and…He was definitely not getting any better at repressing these feelings. Din shook his head at himself, and stood up to go find you.

You were reaching into the compartment, digging through the supplies you had and making a mental note of what was missing.

“Need any help with that?” Din asked, watching you. His eyes softened behind the helmet, seeing you standing on your toes to see past the second shelf, even with that crate you had to stand on. This ship was not too accessible to someone your size.

“Nope,” you told him. “There’s not much left here for me to see, anyways. When was the last time we restocked? I’m going to have to go into the village before we go. The next place we go might be even more desolate.”

“It’s still dark outside - “ Din started to protest.

“Relax, the sun will rise soon. I’ll go then. Besides, I can handle things well, don’t you think?” you teased. You pulled out the empty bottle of septic solution so you can ask the locals if they had something similar. “Here, put this in the bag for me,” you said to Din, reaching out to toss it to him. But the crate under you wobbled, making you lose your balance, and you fell forward off of it.

Din was already two steps ahead of you, catching you with ease before you even had time to process, as the bottle hit the floor and shattered.

“Oof!” you grunted, as you landed on him, your arms wrapped over his shoulders. 

He had his arms wrapped around your waist, and had already put your feet back on the ground, but you were still facing him, with your hands now on his armored chest. You looked up at him, your pulse racing as you imagined you could see his eyes through the visor. The two of you stayed like that for a few silent moments before you put your hands down and awkwardly looked away. Din immediately removed his hands, and instantly longed for more contact.

“Um, thank you,” you said, strongly hoping you weren’t blushing as much as you thought you were.

“Evidently _not_ handling things well,” he said, and you glanced up at him, hearing the hint of playfulness in his tone. 

Looking over to the cockpit, you could tell the sky was getting lighter, and the sun was rising.

“Well, it’s getting light out now. I’m going to head to the village. I’ll go to the one shop I’ve seen with medical supplies,” you said. “I think the kid will stay asleep for a while, so we should both be able to do what we need to without worrying.” You’d both inspected the area after first landing here, so you were familiar with the directions.

“Just be careful,” Din told you as you looked for your things. He went back to the cockpit to continue his inspection.

You grabbed your bag and headed off the ship, looking around. You were surrounded by scattered trees, not dense enough to block your view of the dirt-covered path. The sun was slowly rising, but it was still somewhat dark outside, save for the dimly-lit purple-blue sky. It was cool, enough to give you goosebumps as you walked, but not enough for you to turn back for a shawl. You let out a huff of air, and made your way towards the back side of the village, which you could see in the distance. 

As you entered the village, you noticed that it was still too early for many to be out and about. All the better for you, so you could stay inconspicuous. You made your way through one of the alleys you recognized to the shop you were looking for. Stepping inside, you gave the shopkeeper a curt nod. There were a few others in the shops nearby, talking amongst themselves, but you had this one to yourself. You quickly picked out what you needed - this shop was well stocked - and carried the bottles and packages with you to the front to pay. All of this would be enough for both of you to use for at least three more planets. Satisfied, you went back outside and towards the way you came, staying along the walls as you walked. You were almost back by the trees when you felt someone’s hand wrap around your arm, stopping you. You turned to look at them, and saw a woman, taller than you were. She might have been one of the people you saw by the shops earlier. She had a worried look in her dark eyes. 

“Excuse me,” the woman said in a hushed voice, “can you help me? My friend needs help, and I see you have some knowledge of medicine.” She pointed to your full bag.

“Oh, I –” you started, a little hesitant and wanting to get back.

“Please, he’s just over there and we will repay you for the supplies,” she insisted, gesturing back towards the shop.

“I…alright, but I have to be quick. I can show you what to do,” you told her, still hesitant.

You followed her as she quickly paced around the corner. She stopped abruptly, but there was no one else around. The area was empty.

“Wha- “ you began to ask. But before you could finish, the woman grabbed you, hard, by the arms, and slammed you back against the wall. Your bag fell to the ground, and you tried to resist, while the woman smiled at you mockingly. You were clawing at her, but she was unfazed. You were about to knee her as hard as you could when you saw a figure step out from the shadows of a doorway and walk over. It was a man, obviously part of this setup, and who was taller than the woman, and much, much bigger than you. That was when you saw the blinking red light of the tracking fob, attached to his belt and beeping while he approached you, smiling. _Bounty hunters_.

“What did I tell you?” he said to the woman in a deep voice. “I told you the stupid girl would help.”

You glared at them, fight-or-flight instincts on high. There was still nobody else around.

“I believe you know where we can find a certain valuable bounty. Don’t you?” the woman asked, practically spitting in your face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you snarled back at them. The man and woman glanced at each other with fake concern. She looked back at you and before you knew it, you felt her fist slam across your face. You fell to the ground, groaning in anger, as you felt the side of your face throbbing. You discreetly tried to feel for the blaster you always carried, hidden in your right pocket.

“See, I think you _do_ know, my dear,” they were almost laughing at you now. “And I think you know how much we can get for bringing this asset in. And how worthless you are to us, if we don’t get it.” You had the blaster in your grip now. You inhaled, and pushed yourself up, lunging at them with it raised. Everything felt like it happened in hyperspeed. The man anticipated your reaction, and before you could pull the trigger he knocked the blaster out of your hand and picked it off the ground. Your eyes widened as you tried to move aside, but he’d already shot it, and you felt a river of what felt like lava rushing through your thigh. You let out a scream from the pain, but forced yourself to remain standing. The pair were momentarily distracted, pleased with themselves, so you took the opportunity to connect your fist upwards against the woman’s jaw, taking her by surprise and throwing her step back. With the little strength you had left in your good leg, you kicked the man in the groin before he’d had time to process what had happened. 

But you were still outnumbered, and the damage you made was minuscule. The woman was angry now, launching herself at you and pushing you to the ground again, the force knocking the wind out of you. You felt her nails digging into your arms as she pinned you face down into the ground. She gave you another hit to the face as you tried to wrestle her off, unsuccessfully. The man came up and kicked you in the stomach, leaving you gasping for air.

You felt like you might be close to losing consciousness, when you suddenly felt all the weight on top of you disappear. You blinked and turned your head, and saw a flurry of sparks in the air, a familiar sight from when something became disintegrated. Things were moving in slow motion now, and as you managed to get your eyes to focus, you looked over and saw Din. He was facing the man, and just by the way he was standing you could tell he was _pissed_. The man lunged at him, and Din easily blocked all of his attempted hits, a few of the blaster shots bouncing off his armor. Din returned the punches, and kicked out the man’s knees beneath him, punching him as he landed on the ground.

The man, who was flustered, must have realized he wasn’t getting any assets anytime soon, and stood up to run away. He didn’t make it far, as Din pulled out his pulse rifle and disintegrated this second bounty hunter.

You were still watching him from the ground, trying to turn off your fight-or-flight mode. Breathing heavily, you closed your eyes to try to make the world stop spinning. Seconds passed, when you felt a gentle gloved hand on your arm, urgently inspecting the horrid sights that must’ve been all over you. You felt Din tie something tightly around your thigh. You’d forgotten - there was probably a lot of blood there, though you hadn’t looked. You opened your eyes and saw him kneeling beside you, head tilted, as he reached out to softly touch your face.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yeah,” you weakly smiled, pretending everything hurt less than it did. “Give me a minute.”

You attempted to push yourself up, knowing you wouldn’t be able to and grunting in pain. Before you could even think of trying again, you felt Din’s arms wrapping underneath you and lifting you off the ground. He started to trek back to the ship, holding you gently but moving with urgency. 

“Wait, the bag,” you mumbled, weakly pointing at the wall. “I think we’ll need that.” Din saw what you were looking for, walked over and with one arm still holding you, quickly picked up the bag of supplies. He made his way back to the trees, holding you with one arm under your legs and the other around your back. He had you positioned so that your head was leaning onto the Beskar on his shoulder. _In another situation_ , you thought, _this might be nice_. 

“How did you know to come find me?” you whispered to him.

You felt his body tense up around you. “I heard your blaster go off,” he replied. 

“I was about to handle it,” you managed to say playfully, wanting him to relax. Din responded with a sigh.

You were almost back to the Razor Crest, when you realized that in all the times you’d had patients, you’d hardly ever been the patient yourself. Din’s sleeve was probably stained with blood by now. It was your job to be the healer, your job to help them, and you’d gotten hurt. _How will I fix this_? You thought to yourself. _What if I can’t fix it?_

Your breathing must have quickened in panic, because you heard Din, pulling you back to the moment.

“We’re here. You’re safe,” he said, his voice soft but heavy.

You heard the familiar gurgle of a little green child as Din walked up the ship, and you saw it looking at you, confused but happy to see you. The child followed as Din slowly put you down on the cot, the same cot you’d made him sit on when you’d had to treat him so many times before. He picked up the child and put him back into the pod, then went back to you and placed your bag on the floor. He sat down on a stool in front of you. 

Din let out a quiet sigh of relief. You were obviously hurt, but it could’ve been a lot worse if he hadn’t gotten to you in time. You looked up at him now, wondering what was going through his mind. He still looked tense, although the immediate danger was gone. You tried to sit up a bit to assess the damage to your leg. The fabric Din had tied there stopped the bleeding, and on further inspection you could tell the shot had only gone across the side of your leg, not through it, even though it was still moderately deep. You laid back down. It would heal.

Din didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but then started to reach towards you again with his hand. He gently brushed your hair out of your face. _How many times had he wanted to do that?_ Din asked himself. _This wasn’t the circumstance it should’ve been_. His fingers lightly traced your cheek as he moved them down to your lips, which were split and covered with dried blood. You inhaled at his touch, not wanting to break the moment as he moved his hand away.

He noticed that you were looking at him nervously, and he wondered if you could sense his anger and frustration - not with those scum, but with himself.

“Those were bounty hunters,” he finally said. “They did this to you.” His jaw clenched, which you couldn’t see behind the helmet.

“Yes. They wanted the child.”

“We have to leave, soon,” he added, though you both knew you had to anyways, as of this morning.

“Yes,” you repeated. You leaned over and put your hand on his, urging him to soften. “Please relax, Din. The child is safe. Nothing would have happened to him, I would never have allowed that, no matter the cost –” Din looked at you abruptly, startling you.

“That’s why you think I’m frustrated?” he raised his voice slightly. 

“I told you, that’s all they asked me for…”

“When I heard the shot, the only one who was in any danger was you. The child was safe, with me.” Din shook his head slightly. 

You wrinkled your brows, confused. “But I thought –”

“The only thing on my mind was getting to you in time,” he added. “You’re still the only one who got hurt. That scum thought they could…do this to you and get away with it. Do you really think my main concern was the kid who was already right next to me?”

You looked away, unsure of how to process what he’d said between the lines. _He was worried about you_. You heard him quietly exhale. This was more than he was used to saying out loud, and he went back to his usual silence, watching you.

“Thank you,” you whispered, looking back at him. You could tell he was softening a little, not sitting as tensely. You sat back up again, propped by the pillow. You were too tired to do much now, but at the very least you would have to disinfect the wound. 

You leaned over to grab the supplies, grateful none of them had been damaged, but Din already held them in his hands.

“I’ll do it,” he said, softly. “I’m going to fly us to our next planet, first. But I can handle it. Get some rest.”

You wanted to tell him you could do it, but he was right. You were exhausted. So you laid back down on your side, and closed your eyes. The last things you heard were Din’s footsteps to the cockpit, followed by the humming from the powering of the ship. Before your thoughts quieted, you wondered to yourself how, despite everything, you’d gotten so lucky.


	3. Three

Din was in his seat, preparing to fly the three of you off to a new planet, but was lost in his thoughts. He had tried to keep you as undisturbed as possible, though he didn’t have much of a clue as to how to properly treat wounds. Not the way you did, anyways. 

He did the best he could do while you were tucked underneath his thickest blanket, quickly disinfecting everything using what he could remember learning from you. It would have to do for now; you could show him later, after he got you away from the immediate dangers of this area. When he walked back to the cockpit, he looked back at you for a second. He felt something nagging his subconscious, telling him he was softening more every time he looked at you, sleeping soundly and looking so…s _top it_ , he told himself. _She took this job so she could find her purpose again. That’s all. That’s what she’s here for._ Din felt like he was telling himself that more often recently. He let out a deeper sigh than usual, and got ready to activate hyperspace.

~

A soft whirring noise faded into your consciousness as you squeezed your eyes shut, not wanting to move. _Where were you again?_ You slowly opened your eyes, reorienting yourself. It was mostly dark, with one dim light on in the other corner of the space, making it just light enough to see your surroundings. A cool, damp cloth laid across your forehead and there was a thick, warm blanket covering you. Not wanting to leave its comfort, you started to wriggle out from under it, immediately feeling pain shoot up your leg. _Oh, yeah_. That _happened_. You flinched from the sensation, replaying the previous events in your mind. You were on a new planet by now, you figured, not knowing how long you had been out. You managed to push the rest of the blanket off yourself and sat up, feeling a throbbing ache on the side of your head from where you’d been hit. When you reached up to remove the cloth and inspect the swelling, you noticed that your arms were wrapped neatly in a thin layer of gauze. The area over your brow was bandaged, too. _When was this done?_ You couldn’t have been out that long, but the last thing you remembered was Din briefly disinfecting the wounds, then the feeling of the ship going into hyperspace. Your leg was also bandaged, but the leg of your pants was cut around the large area where the wound was, so that it could be disinfected. You blushed intensely, horrified at the realization that Din had to see your bare thigh. But your heart warmed, thinking of the effort he must’ve made, delicately changing the dressing without even waking you.

A happy cooing sound interrupted your thoughts. You looked over and saw two big green ears walking towards you.

You heard Din’s firm voice from the cockpit, calling the child. “Hey! What did I tell you –” He stepped into view, picking up the child but stopping when he saw you. “–You’re awake.”

“Yes. How long was I out?” you asked.

“About a day,” he said. 

“And where are we now?”

“Ice planet. It’s not ideal, just…for now.”

You nodded in understanding. “Thank you,” you said after a moment, gesturing to your arms. “For all of this.” A slight feeling of embarrassment hit you when you realized how wild you must’ve looked recently.

Din walked closer to you. “It’s not perfect - I did what I could remember from you all those times,” he said softly. “I changed the ice pack for your head a few times. I hope it helped a little.”

Your lips were still split, but you couldn’t help but smile a bit, looking up at him. “I appreciate it.” For some reason you felt like there was a bit of tension between you, almost like the way it used to feel when you had just joined him and you both shared more silence than short conversation. It didn’t feel like there was anything off - just…different. 

The child wriggled in his arms, reaching for you. You stood up, grimacing from the pain, but it resolved slightly after a few seconds. Din must’ve used the numbing solution you’d also bought.

He put his arm out, ready to support you. “I don’t think you should be standing much right now,” he said, urgently but still in a soft voice.

You took the child from his arms, looking into those big brown eyes as he cooed at you. “It’s fine. I won’t go running in the snow or anything,” you joked. “Besides, I should get the blood flowing.”

You walked, a bit wobbly, to the cockpit to look outside. Din followed closely behind you, his hand close to your back. This was definitely a snow planet. There were a few meager trees outside, but the snow covered them so densely that it mostly just looked like a blizzard of white over barren land.

“I don’t suppose you’ve already checked out the area?” you asked him. “Really, I wouldn’t mind helping you look around for resources.”

“Already done,” he answered. “The closest village is 8 miles from here. We should have enough resources to last till the next planet.”

“So all we have to do is rest our legs and stretch?” you joked, looking at him. The kid started squirming in your arms, so you put him down so he could happily roam about.

He nodded. “Couldn’t take any chances this time.” 

He was looking at you now, too, neither of you saying anything.

~

A few hours passed. You were sitting on the cot, playing with the child and letting your mind wander off after he settled in for another nap. You had taken this job to help this lone man and his child, but much had changed in just a year. Before you found them, you were just as alone as he was, trying to find your way with nothing but your instincts to guide you. It was probably just you, but you realized that over time you had slowly wanted more. Like your pull to him was greater, and you didn’t know how to resist it. You couldn’t get him out of your head when you laid in silence at night, unable to sleep. It wasn’t something you could bring up; you’d only make him uncomfortable and it would be unfair to expect anything, when all he’d done was simply given you a job. One that you couldn’t even do properly right now, in this state. Beside that, Din wasn’t a talker anyways and your current relationship with him worked perfectly well with the mutual understandings that you traded in silence.

“It’s time to change out the bandages,” Din broke your train of thought, coming over with the medical kit. 

“Oh, I can –” you reached out for the kit, but he didn’t give it to you.

“I’ll do it. I should learn how to do this properly, anyways,” he said, sitting down next to you. You turned around on the cot to face him.

You watched him take out everything he needed, then slowly remove both of his gloves and set them aside. You gave him your arm and he held your wrist gently. Your arms were the least damaged, with just some deep scratches, so you didn’t wince as Din carefully peeled the gauze off and disinfected the area. Honestly, you couldn’t even notice the pain in your leg at that moment, as you were looking at him and thinking of how much tenderness was tucked away behind all that Beskar and composure. You felt his fingers work rather expertly with the supplies, and tried not to think of how this was the first time you’d had any direct physical contact with him. You willed yourself to stop the butterflies in your stomach.Before you knew it, both arms were finished and covered in a new layer of gauze.

“I see you’ve been paying attention,” you teased.

Din didn’t look up at you. “Always,” he answered.

You put your injured leg over the other in front of you, feeling awkward at the positioning. But he seemed unbothered, taking care to get the gauze off as painlessly as possible. The wound was deep, causing you to flinch as he did it. You had your hand on your knee, gripping it as if it would dull the pain. Din was silent, but he placed his free hand delicately on top of yours, as if to soothe you, like you did with him many times in the past. You were glad neither of you cared about the sight of blood, because there was a lot of it. He cleaned it and added the medicated gel and numbing solution, instantly relieving the pain, then wrapped it again with clean gauze.

You let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding, and you were pretty sure it wasn’t because of the pain.

“Thank you.”

“We still have to do your…head,” he said.

“Oh, right,” you replied. You pulled the bandage over your brow off. “How bad is it?” 

Din was silent again, just looking at you for a few moments. Then he reached forward and gently brushed his bare fingers on your cheek, using his thumb to trace the area above it. You stilled at his touch, dazed at the sensation of his surprisingly soft skin against yours. For a moment you allowed yourself to lean into it, wanting more. You couldn’t avoid looking into his visor, and you couldn’t tell whether he was looking into your eyes or at the cut, but you could feel your heartbeat quickening. It felt as though, with just this simple touch, you had both crossed some unspoken line. He broke the physical contact for a moment to clean the small cut with a tiny bit of solution. A new bandage replaced the old one, and after he smoothed it down his hand lingered on your face, fingers resting softly against your cheek again. You swore he sounded particularly silent, like he was holding his breath, too.

Still looking at him, you slowly raised your hand up to your face and rested it on the back of his hand. Neither of you moved. How long had you imagined being able to touch his skin like this? How long had it been since either of you had any sort of connection with another person? There was an unspoken connection between you, one that went unacknowledged but always lingered in the air, with no expectations of making itself seen. You couldn’t tell whether it was an affectionate touch or just one of concern, but now that you’d felt it, you didn’t want to go back.

As if he heard your thoughts, Din abruptly, but gently, removed his hand from yours. You looked down, your face growing warm.

“I’m sorry, I…” you started to say.

“You did nothing wrong,” Din whispered. He paused before continuing. “I don’t…” he murmured, trying to find words.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” you interrupted him. “It’s the Way. I understand.”

“I just…no one has seen me since –.” He shook his head, frustrated. “But you seem to see me anyways, as I am,” he added more quietly, in a broken whisper.

“It’s alright,” you reassured him, and he nodded in response. You helped him clean up the supplies in silence, and watched as he carefully put them back in the compartment. After he walked down to the hull of the ship, you laid back down and pulled the blanket over yourself. Knowing you didn’t want to sleep anymore, you were alone with your thoughts again. _How in the galaxy did two lonely souls find each other,_ you wondered, _and was it even worth it to break free, if you’d both grown so content with being alone?_


	4. Four

_SLAM!_

You were relaxing on top of a crate in the corner, looking over one of your medical texts to refresh your skillset when you heard Din let out a frustrated sigh and slam his fist on something metal. You put the text aside and climbed down the hull, curiously. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked, walking over to him.

“The kid must’ve gotten into our food supply. There’s hardly anything left, maybe enough for a week.”

“How? Doesn’t that lock?”

“Apparently he can reach higher than I thought,” Din said, shaking his head. 

You heard a babble coming from behind a box on the floor, and both of you turned that way to find a pouty-eyed, mischievous looking grin coming from the child, who was peeking from behind the box. You went over and picked him up.

“Did you do this, little one? How did you even eat all of that?” you asked, getting a coo in response. You turned to Din. “Will we have to leave?” you asked. You’d only been on this ice planet for a few weeks, and it was the safest hideout Din had managed to find in a while.

“I don’t want to risk finding a new location yet. There’s that village less than 10 miles from here, probably a few hours’ walk in this weather. I can find some more resources there.”

“Alright, I’ll get the blasters ready and we can head out in a bit,” you told him. 

“No. I can go. Your leg is barely recovering, and the last time –” Din shook his head before you interrupted him.

“Neither of us have seen much of this planet. We don’t know what’s out there and can’t risk being alone. My leg is a lot better now, and I can bring extra supplies to change the dressing if I need to,” you said. Thankfully, the blaster shot hadn’t needed sutures, and it was healing well, so all you really had to do was keep cleaning it. 

Din looked at you silently and sighed, knowing you were stubborn and he wouldn’t win here.

“I’ll be okay,” you said, more softly. “Alright, I’ll go gather our things. Maybe we should bring some extra stuff, in case we have to stay overnight,” you said, noting how much harsher the weather was getting.

Din nodded, and you went to pack.

Things had been a bit more tense between you and Din since that night a few weeks ago, when you’d both crossed that line with each other. Even though nothing technically happened, the language you shared with him had always been an internal one, and things weren’t quite the same.

~

It was _cold_ on the ship. The thermal regulator was working fine, but a metal ship didn’t exactly go well with the perpetual ice that surrounded it, so you’d been living in frigid conditions. It was bearable, but the bundles of blankets you both used to sleep under were starting to become inadequate. Din slept in a separate area at night, so you had no idea how he was handling the cold, but it couldn’t have been much better for him. The kid seemed to be immune to the cold, not wanting any of the extra layers you tried to put on him, but you were in a constant state of chill. Add that to the snowstorm that was beginning to get worse outside, and you realized Din would’ve had you and the kid come along anyways, if only for a potentially better shelter. 

You put on the only coat you had, one you’d bought after a hunt a few months ago, lugged the bag over your back, and headed back up with Din. He carried his bag and usual weapons, of course, while you had your blaster.

“Are you going to be warm enough in that?” you asked, gesturing to his lack of heavy layering.

“Yes. You get used to it,” he replied simply.

He opened the door, and the three of you got off the ship, starting the trek towards the village.

~

A few hours later, the village came into view. It consisted of many well-built wooden huts, surrounded by trees and covered in ice. You were glad to see it, because you couldn’t feel your nose anymore and your clothes were covered in a light dusting of snow.

You walked towards an opening through the nearest set of trees. The snowfall calmed down quite a bit, to where it wasn’t unpleasant anymore. Both of you looked around the area, but it was quiet and no one was around. 

“Stop where you are!” a man’s voice yelled from behind. “Put your hands up!” You and Din turned around slowly, raising your arms non-defensively. The kid was quiet, looking up at you, unconcerned.

You saw two young men, and one of them looked injured, with a slash across his upper arm that was bleeding into his coat, and he looked red, as if he was falling ill. They both pointed their guns at you and Din.

“Please, we don’t mean any harm,” you said, calmly. “We’ve been staying on our ship not far from here, but we ran out of supplies so we came here for help.”

“Right,” one of the men said. Their voices were threatening, but they looked fearful. “Then why do you have weapons on you?” 

“It’s hardly a good idea to walk the woods without protection,” Din said bluntly.

The men didn’t lower their guns. 

“What happened to your arm?” you asked the injured man. “And you look like you’re running a fever. I’m a healer. I can help,” you said, in a nicer tone.

The men looked at each other, unsure of whether to trust you. “So you’re not with that tribe? They didn’t send you back for us?” he asked, hesitating.

“What tribe?” Din asked, putting his arms down. He was getting impatient. “If you lower your blasters and explain why you’re so on edge, maybe we can help.”

They looked at each other again and slowly lowered them, still not moving any closer to you.

“We were attacked a few days ago. It was another tribe, not from around here, and they wanted to raid our harvest. It seems you’re not the only ones having trouble maintaining your resources,” the uninjured man said. “They outnumbered us, but we were able to fight them off. With a cost, though. And they left behind a few mines. Many of our people were hurt, a lot of them much worse than what you see here. They haven’t been handling the injuries well.”

“Do you have any medical supplies here? And extra lodging?” you asked.

They nodded.

“We can help treat your injured people, in return for a temporary place to stay, and we will pay you for some spare resources once we leave,” you negotiated.

“How do we know we can trust you?” the other man asked, although they seemed to relax their postures a bit.

“If we wanted you dead, you already would be,” Din said in a monotone voice. You playfully rolled your eyes at his attempt to soothe the men with sarcasm.

“Let us talk to the others. But I think that could work,” the man said, and they guided you into the village.

~

The people had agreed they could trust you. 

You’d been led to a smaller hut, your temporary lodging, that was on the outskirts of all the others. They’d only had one space for you to share, since a lot of the others had been damaged during the attack. It was probably just long enough for both of you to fully extend your legs when lying down. But there would only be a few feet between you, even if you were on separate sides. Not to mention, the lack of privacy.

“Din, if this isn’t okay, I’m sure one of the women will let me –” you started to say, awkwardly.

“It’ll be fine,” he answered.

“But your helmet –”

“I don’t have to take it off to rest.”

“I’m not going to have you being uncomfortable for –”

“It’s fine,” he said, softly. “It’ll keep me warmer,” he added, a hint of teasing.

You looked up at him, still unsure. “Okay. If you’re sure.” You put your bag and the child down. Before going back outside, you exchanged a wordless glance with Din, a little longer than what would be considered unintentional. 

~

“So how many people are we talking about?” you asked the woman who was leading you to the care unit. She was filling you in on the specifics. She didn’t answer your question, just walked you through the curtains to the large shed. The area was barely lit enough for you to see, but there had to be at least sixty men and women there, all in a frightening state. Some looked better off, some you were afraid were beyond full repair. You frowned, turning to Din beside you.

“This many?” you whispered to him. “These aren’t small wounds. It could take days to get to all of them, even with help. And I’m not even sure some of these injuries can be fixed,” you said, frowning. Din might’ve been able to help you for a while, but some of the people needed his help rebuilding their structures.

“This should be nothing for you,” he reassured you. “You’ve done this on me how many times?” At that, you blushed. Not that there was any reason to. But hearing him have some confidence in your ability was somewhat calming.

You took a deep breath and exhaled. It had been a long time since you’d had to treat anyone to this extent. 

“Okay. Show me the supplies and my station,” you said to the woman.

~

“So this one definitely needs to be cauterized,” you said to the young girl, who had volunteered to help you. She was curious, like you had once been, asking many questions about what should be done and why. Din had helped you for several hours until the girl had asked to help instead. You were seeing the people in order of injury urgency. You had already made your way through three minor surgeries where you’d had to remove pieces of debris from various parts of their bodies, disinfecting and cauterizing them thoroughly in hopes that they weren’t already infected. It was amazing how the girl was unfazed at the sight of these wounds, only concerned with helping you move efficiently. The child, who was running around on the ground in your area, was also unbothered as he played. In fact, he brought a welcome distraction to the people, who were amused by him. You smiled and continued to work on the current patient. 

Your leg was throbbing a little, but the cold air almost worked as an atmospheric ice pack. It had been a long day, and you were excited to get some rest soon. _With Din nearby. Not minding the invasion of his personal space._ You shook your head at yourself and sighed. _Stop being foolish_ , you thought.

Din had gone to help some of the young ones rebuild the structures outside, quietly doing his job but with you on his mind, and that moment a few weeks ago. He felt the same tension with you, but he was tired of suppressing it. In the last few weeks, since that moment between you, you’d had him questioning many things. Really, it had started long before that night. Between finding the child and you, it was more affection than he’d allowed himself to feel in a long time. He didn’t know what to do with it, and he was afraid of what could happen if things did escalate beyond that brief touch you shared. But when he looked into your hopeful, compassionate gaze, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to go back to what he was before.

~

Later that night, you were back in your temporary housing, eating your hot soup while wrapped in a thin blanket. The straw mat you were sitting on was comfortable for your tired legs. The kid was sound asleep in a small box they’d given him, exhausted from his long day. The space was small, but the door shut tightly and the walls were well-insulated, so even though it was still chilly, it was warmer than it had been on the ship. A lamp lit up the space with a dim yellow hue. The door creaked as it was pulled open, and Din stepped inside.

“Welcome back,” you greeted him, getting a usual nod in reply. “Have you eaten yet? I can turn around.”

“Thank you. But I ate an hour ago, when we finished one of the huts,” he said. You watched as he took off the armor on his shoulders, arms, and legs, putting it in the corner in a neat stack. He sat down on his side of the space, facing you. Between your mats there was maybe an arm’s length of space separating you from him. The village had gone to sleep, and only the whistling of the air outside filled the silence.

“How was it today?” he asked as you put down your empty bowl.

“I hope I was of some help,” you answered. “Some of them will have permanent damage, and all I could do was make them more comfortable.”

“I’m sure that’s more than they expected. You underestimate your effect on people,” he said, in a tone that made those stupid butterflies in your stomach resurface. _He means you did a good job_ , you reminded yourself. _You really need to stop reading into things._

You cleared your throat. “Well, it was nice to be useful again. Wait, that came out wrong,” you stopped yourself. “What I mean is, I’ve loved working with the kid and you and I wouldn’t ever change a thing. But this reminded me of what once was, that’s all.”

“I know,” he replied. 

You pushed some loose strands of hair behind your ear. He was watching you, and even though you couldn’t see his eyes it felt like he was looking at _you_ , who you truly were. He looked more…relaxed than usual. It was strange, seeing Din without his full armor on.

“I won’t ask when the last time you took off your helmet off was,” you said softly. “But can I ask if you’ve ever felt alone because of it?” You shook your head, stopping yourself again. What was wrong with you tonight? “I’m sorry, that was inappropriate. It’s none of my business.”

Din was still gazing at you quietly, and didn’t answer for a moment. 

“I do, sometimes. More often lately,” he said after a while, as if he’d only just now considered the second part. You blinked, looking a little harder at him, wondering if you’d heard that right. It didn’t seem like he was going to add anything to that.

“Before I started working with you, I was on my own, unable to trust anyone and always on edge. There was so much hostility where I was. Sometimes it felt like I was being suffocated,” you admitted, mostly to yourself.

“How did you bear it?” he asked.

 _I found you_ , you wanted to say.

“You have your armor. This is mine,” you answered, pointing to the medical kit on your bag.

Din said nothing, just looked at you with that same head tilt that made you soften.

“Well then,” he said in a whisper, “I’m glad you found us.”

You gave a small smile, and wondered if he ever smiled at you under there, even if just a little. You laid down and pulled the thin blanket over yourself, and Din did the same. Before you closed your eyes, you faced him again. 

“Din?”

“Yes?” 

“When I turn out the light, it’ll be completely dark. If I turn around and face the wall, would you be able to take your helmet off then? I promise I don’t roll around in my sleep. You shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable because of me,” you told him. It was silent for another few moments.

“…Yes,” he finally answered.

You happily hit the light switch and rolled over as promised. After a minute, you hadn’t even heard him move to take it off, but Din’s unaltered voice suddenly spoke.

“Thank you. Good night,” he said. His voice was deep and almost tender, even without the helmet. _What a nice sound that was_ , you thought to yourself as you drifted off to sleep.

~

Din couldn’t sleep. That was nothing new, though. Instead he laid there, deep in the same thoughts that had been swirling ever since he met you. Your occasional light snores made him look over at you. It was dark, but he could see that you were curled up into a tight ball, and that your thin blanket had come off. You were cold. Din sat up, leaning over to pull the blanket back over you. After another minute he got up again and draped his cape over you, too. It was thicker than the blankets they’d given you. 

He tried, hard, to stop that feeling of his soul softening every time he looked at you. But how could he, when you were right there next to him? Even though you were fast asleep and in pitch darkness, he was without his helmet and most of his armor, and he felt like this was a new form of intimacy that he shared with you. He wished he knew whether that gentle manner you had with him was because you still felt the same towards him, despite what happened. After that night on the ship, he’d probably pushed you away. That was the last thing he’d intended to happen, because there was nothing he had wanted more than to let you continue bringing him closer until he could hold you in his arms. Din closed his eyes and exhaled quietly, frustrated with himself. He realized that if something like that happened between you two again, he wouldn’t try to stop it…He wouldn’t want to.


	5. Five

A ray of light hitting your eyes through a slit in the wall woke you. Last night had been your third here in this village, and despite how relatively comfortable you’d gotten, you were done with your work, and would be ready to head back to the Razor Crest soon. 

You rolled over and found yourself alone, as usual. Din was always up well before you were. Every morning since you’d been here, you’d woken up with his thick cape over you, shielding you from the cold. You would neatly fold it and put it on his pillow each morning, and he never mentioned it. But your heart swelled a little each time at the wordless gesture. 

You had finished seeing the patients late last evening, and slept in the village one more night. As promised, you would be given some of the harvest they could spare before you left. It would be locked safely out of the little one’s reach this time, and would likely be well enough to allow you to stay on this planet a few weeks longer before heading off to another. After neatly packing up the few things you’d brought, you stepped out into the cold morning air. The child was running around, ears flopping as he went in circles with the village children. Those big ears perked up when he saw you, and he ran to you as you walked over to the shed to see if anyone needed anything else.

Din was standing with some of the villagers. Their work was done also, and they were thanking him for his help.

“We’re sorry to see you go,” one of the men said. “You have both been a great help. And that little one, he’s restored our spirits,” he added as he looked over at the child, who was following you around and making all the children laugh.

“We’re grateful for your kindness to us,” Din answered. 

“They’re really something, aren’t they?” the man said, nodding his head towards you and the child. 

“Yes,” was all Din said. He was looking over at you now, too.

“I believe she would take the fall herself before she let anything happen to that one,” the man continued, getting a nod in agreement.

“And if you don’t mind my saying, I am quite sure the same would apply with regards to you.”

At that, Din said nothing.

~

You’d gathered your things and were saying your goodbyes to the villagers. You could tell the child would be the most missed of all, as he was getting hugs from nearly everyone. It was a good day to leave, as the snowstorm from days before had completely resided and you would be able to make the walk back to the Razor Crest in no time. After a final wave, you picked up the child and the three of you headed back the way you came.

~

You and Din walked in your usual silence for a while, with only the sounds of your soft footsteps in the snow and the occasional cooing from the child keeping you company. Perhaps it was the renewed energy you got from a fulfilling job well done, but you suddenly felt bolder somehow, wanting to address the nagging thought that had been in the back of your mind.

“Din?” you said.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For trusting me enough to take off your helmet. I hope you know I would never ask you to do anything you didn’t want to,” you said, shying away from what you had to say next. “I’m sorry again for that night on the ship.”

Din was still quiet, not knowing how to answer you at first.

“You did nothing wrong,” he finally said, repeating the same words he’d used that night.

You closed your eyes and exhaled silently.

He spoke again abruptly. “That first night in the village, you told me you felt suffocated in your past,” he said. “I want you to know that I understood. That feeling of being trapped. Not by my way of life, just…” He trailed off, not finishing the sentence. The sudden loss of his usual composure worried you. You were nervous about crossing another line with your words.

“You asked me how I handled it,” you said softly. “I told you I found peace in my work, but that wasn’t all of it. _You_ took me in. Trusted me with this little one. I’d spent so long wandering through life without purpose. There’s a lot to it, but we were no longer welcome as healers, and I’d lost my way. But then I found you, and maybe you didn’t truly need me for that tiny wound you had the day I met you, but for whatever reason you trusted me anyways. And it was as if…you healed _me_.” _There you go again, rambling on and pushing people’s boundaries,_ you thought to yourself. But you’d wanted to say it for so long, you didn’t want to hide it anymore.

His silence made you afraid that you did push too far this time. Much to your relief, he spoke again.

“We _do_ need you.”

You smiled to yourself at his answer, and you two continued to walk quietly.

Din knew he was a man of few words. He preferred it that way, anyways. But now he was silent as he walked alongside you because he was trying to fully comprehend the conversation you’d just had with him. You were right. That day he met you, he could’ve easily just ignored your efforts to help him and dealt with it himself, like he always did. But even though he knew nothing about you then, he felt the smallest spark of a connection with you, and somehow he let himself trust you. He’d trusted no one, not in a long time. There were a lot of things he hadn’t experienced in a long time. Needless to say, that was what he meant when he’d almost revealed too much to you just a minute ago, when he said he felt trapped. Since he met you, he felt trapped in his mind, unable to suppress the feelings he’d started having for you so long ago. Maybe it was the two-lost-souls thing, but you were the one who’d brought something out in him that he didn’t think he was capable of anymore. What that villager said, about you being willing to do anything for him and the child, he knew it was true. He would do the same for you, without a second thought. _Thoughts_. There were so many thoughts of you in his mind, and although he wouldn’t admit any of them to you now, he didn’t want to cage them anymore. 

~

Neither of you said much else for the rest of the journey. But eventually you made it safely back to the ship, and despite the last few comfortable nights you’d spent in the village, you were happy to be back. Back _home_. The kid had insisted on walking the last hour of the way home, so he was now exhausted and ready for a nap. 

Once on the ship, Din picked up the kid and put him in his pod, and he fell asleep instantly. He loaded up the basket of the fresh harvest resources the village gave you, and went back to find you tossing your medical supplies on the cot, trying to organize it. The sun was setting so there was less light coming in, making it harder for you to read the labels. Inside the ship it was still cold enough to give you goosebumps, although that may not have actually been the reason.

~

He was watching as you hastily rearranged everything in your kit, trying to distract yourself from your sudden realization of how much you’d confessed out there. You finally finished and stood up, brushing the dust off your hands as he walked over to you.

“We made it back in one piece,” you said. “Try not to get too rough on your next job, but we definitely have enough supplies if anything does happen,” you added, jokingly. 

“You’ll handle it, like you always do,” Din said, surprising you as he gently touched your arm. In response, you placed your hand softly on his chest – on the Beskar, at least. Silence again, as he looked down at you. You wondered if his thoughts were as unrelenting as yours were right now.

“Well, I should –” you started to say, as he lifted his hand towards your face. You were brought back to that night again, when you were close to him for just a moment. But he hesitated, and pulled his hand away, and you could tell he felt some sort of guilt.

You reached up and put your fingers lightly against his helmet, where his cheeks would be. 

“It’s okay, I understand,” you said. 

But he didn’t move away from you, you were still close to each other. You heard him let out a breath. 

“I can’t be…I want to –” he said in such a quiet voice you could barely hear him. “I just don’t know how we could do this.”

You nodded, resolving to move away yourself, when you looked around his shoulder and had an idea. You walked over to the cot, picking up a roll of gauze you’d thrown there. 

“What if I didn’t have to see you?” you asked in a faint voice, holding up the gauze and feeling a little silly at the suggestion. “Just like in the village.”

He didn’t say anything, just looked at you in silence. But then he slowly moved closer to you, which you took as an approval. He stopped before getting too close you, just on the edges of your personal space. He seemed to be observing you, waiting for you to move first.

“Just like in the village,” he repeated in a broken whisper.

You tore off a strip of the gauze and looked at him one more time before wrapping it over your eyes and tying it snugly at the back of your head.

Din stood silently for a moment, and for a second you felt as though he changed his mind.

After a few more seconds of silence passed, you raised your hands back behind you to untie the knot. “We don’t have to –”

You quieted at the sound of his footsteps moving towards you, almost but not quite closing the space between you. He was close enough that you would’ve probably felt his breath. Though you couldn’t see anything, you tilted your head up, as if you could look into his eyes. You heard his hands push up lightly on his helmet, taking it off, and set it down next to him. Heartbeat racing, you tried to get yourself to slow your breathing. Then you felt his soft, warm hands wrapping around both of your wrists. He slowly moved your hands up, gently letting them rest on his face, and released his own hands. You didn’t know what to do, at first. But you traced your fingers along the sides of his jaw, taking in its shape. He had a strong jawline, but it wasn’t tense, not right now. You smiled at the light facial hair he had, probably left behind during usual grooming. You moved your hands further up, feeling his hair. It was thick, but soft, not too long but not so short that you couldn’t run your fingers through it.

“I’ve always imagined you had brown hair,” you whispered, breaking the silence. “Am I right?”

Din said nothing, but you heard him exhale lightly.

Your hands moved back down, your thumbs tracing lightly around his eyes. You longed to see the expression in them right now. Lastly, you moved them to his lips, which were soft and slightly parted, so you could feel his warm breaths on your fingertips. 

Satisfied, you reached back down for his hands, and he placed them into yours when you had trouble finding them. You pulled them up towards your own face. He had touched your face before, that day he fixed up your wounds. But something about this, with you not being able to see and using only your other senses which had become hyper-alert, made this different. There was a different spark, one that you both must have felt. His fingers were much more delicate than yours had been. He brushed them along your cheek, running his thumb over your brow. His hands were so soft, and you couldn’t remember the last time you felt so enlivened by someone’s touch. You held your breath as he traced his finger along your lips. Was he standing even closer to you now? You couldn’t tell. He held your face softly for a few long seconds before you felt him gently pull you in and press his lips to yours. You gasped into his kiss, not expecting it. You reached back up and put one of your hands over his shoulder, running the other through his hair as his lips quietly moved against yours. Din was unsure of where to put his hands, they were lightly touching your waist until you got on your tiptoes and he brought you in even closer, wrapping his arms around you. You savored every point of contact with him, putting your arms around his neck, the cold sensation of the Beskar contrasting with the heat of his skin against yours. Somehow your kisses were still slow and soft, as if you were both fragile and had all the time in the world.

Too soon, Din pulled away, though you both longed for more. Both of his hands brushed lightly back against your cheeks, and you felt him tucking your hair behind your ears. Except, he wasn’t. His hands moved toward the back of your head, and, with an easy tug, released the knot in the gauze, letting it uncover your eyes and fall to the floor.


	6. Six

It was getting dark on the ship. The sun was no longer out, leaving you only with the ambiance from the flickering lights of the ship around you. When you felt the gauze around your eyes fall to the floor, you were confused for a split second, still dazed by what had just happened between you seconds earlier.

His soft lips against yours, sharing a moment of delicate touch and intimacy that you were both so desperately deprived of. Both of you eager, neither of you in a hurry. You had been so caught up in the moment that you hadn’t even realized what he was doing. So when you oriented your eyes and saw the softly lit silhouette of Din’s face, your immediate instinct was to quickly cover your eyes with both hands. _It was an accident_ , you thought.

“Din!” You said. “What did you – I didn’t see, I promise –”

“It’s okay,” he immediately said in a hushed tone, his voice gentle. “It’s what I meant to do.”

You put your hands down but kept your eyes closed, shaking your head in confusion. “But…why would you…your code…” You couldn’t form a proper sentence. What was he doing?

He was still close to you, softly holding your face with a gentle hand and lightly tracing your cheek with his thumb. Once more, he was a man of few words, quietly observing you. Seconds passed, but it felt like hours.

“My way of life – it now includes you,” he said softly into your ear, as if it was the simplest fact in the galaxy. “And the kid, too,” he added, to ease the obvious tension in your shoulders.

You inhaled quietly, thinking about his words.

“I…I can’t let you do this, Din,” you said, voice slightly unsteady. He wiped away a tear that snuck up on you, falling down your cheek. You were overwhelmed by everything that was happening. You felt honored that he had this much trust in you. That this lone mysterious man had faith in you, and by some luck from the stars shared the same feelings for you as you did for him. You wanted him in every way that he would let you have him. But you didn’t feel like you should be the one to make him break from his long-held values. Your job was to heal, not to break.

“This…means the world to me,” you added a moment later. “But I’m happy with you, Din. With _us_ , just like this. I don’t need anything more than that. You don’t have to do this just for me. Not in a haste. Not until you’re sure.”

During this conversation, neither of you had moved apart from the other. You had never been this close to anyone, and wanted it to last as long as it could. Din’s arm was still wrapped gently around your waist. Your hand was resting on the steel over his chest and you leaned in closer to him as he held you.

Your eyes remained closed so you still couldn’t see him, but he was looking at you with wonder, intense eyes analyzing you. When his lips had met yours for the first time, when both of you were finally able to express what had been stored away for too long, Din felt something shift in himself. He’d remembered feeling something similar only once before – when he’d decided to save the child. As a hunter, he was used to having or being given conditions. But you were here, ready to take him as he was, with no expectations or wants for anything beyond that. You, with your resilience and hope, were willing to have him despite who he was, or the things he’d done in his past. It was in those moments that he’d decided that he would let you _fully_ have him as he was. As he felt your warm skin against his, he felt there was nothing else he could hide from you because you’d already seen him for who he was anyways. Those had been his thoughts when he carefully loosened the knot in the gauze free.

But what he hadn’t expected was your reaction. You were willing to bypass your own desires so that he wouldn’t have to break his way, even though he had been willing to make an exception for you. _Of course you were_. Because you were someone with an innate goodness in your soul that ultimately softened his heart for you. Din wondered, not for the first time, how he could ever deserve someone like you.

He lightly ran his fingers through your soft strands of hair. “Is this what you want?” he asked, almost whispering.

“It’s for you, not me,” you answered. “I just want you to be sure. I’ll always be here, and we’ll still have what we had in the village…” _In the village. Your shared trust. His deep but tender, unfiltered voice telling you good night. Those cold icy nights where you’d never been warmer, because you had him by your side._

Saying nothing, he slowly pulled you in for one more delicate kiss, and you understood the words he didn’t have to say. _Until next time_. You reluctantly let go of each other as he pulled away. You heard him reach down to pick up his helmet and put it back on.

“You really saw nothing?” he asked with a hint of teasing, after you opened your eyes again.

Truthfully, in that brief moment, you _had_ caught a glimpse of him…his dark, messy hair, the surprisingly soft expression in his brown eyes, the way he was looking at you…

“Only a peek,” you admitted, blushing. “I’ll make it last.”


	7. Seven

“They want him dropped off in a _war zone_?” you asked. Din was in the cockpit, punching in the coordinates he was given. The Crest needed final repairs and you had run out of supplies, so Din had taken on another hunt after you left the ice planet. Meanwhile, you went back to taking small jobs healing whoever needed it on any planet you stopped on. The city of K’Laya, where you were headed, was known for being in constant conflict due to post-empire regulations and occasional uprisings.

“It’s not ideal,” he answered simply. “But we don’t need to interact with any locals, so we shouldn’t be making a scene. We just need to get in to drop him off, then get out.” This last bounty had already been frozen in carbonite down in the hull, and was ready to go. This one had been hard to find, and harder to catch.

Din had been extra tense during this job, as it’d been putting all three of you in even more dangerous situations than usual. But that was always a risk when dealing with non-guild work, and both of you knew that. An even bigger risk was that you still always brought the child with you everywhere you went – no one was to be trusted, and the kid always managed to find a way off the ship by himself anyways.

He never liked having to put you in danger. Risks were something he’d lived with for as long as he could remember, and he’d accepted and grown used to them. But potentially putting you and the kid in harm’s way – these were things that always put him more on edge. He didn’t have much of a choice, though. You were safer if you came along, and you were persistent and stubborn in doing so anyways. _Together_ , you’d told him. Those words from you echoed in his mind, and he realized that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

~

You stepped off the ship and saw nothing but desert surrounding the hustle & bustle of the busy city. The wind was blowing sand into your eyes, making it uncomfortable to keep your eyes open without squinting. You walked beside Din, blaster ready in its holster and the child carefully tucked in your arms. The three of you made your way into the marketplace, trying to remain inconspicuous. Both of you carefully watched everyone, and he kept a gentle hand on the small of your back as you walked together.

If you hadn’t known this was a war zone, you would have had no reason to be on alert. It was as crowded as one would expect. Everyone was calmly going about their day, filling the area with the sounds of harmless but loud chatter. The paths were full of shops and the colorful things they had for sale.

As you made your way to the outer skirts of the market, it became more secluded and Din led the way to a door that was almost hidden in the corner. Giving each other a nod, you put your hand on his arm reassuringly as he went inside to meet the client, while you stood outside on guard.

~

You had been waiting with the child for a while, cooing back and forth at him. You saw a few men leave to go pick up the bounty from the Crest, with Din still inside. Nothing was out of the ordinary; these non-traditional hunts tended to require more negotiations. It wasn’t long after when Din walked back out, payment in stow. You started to make your way back through the market to the ship together.

You were almost at the exit when you heard everything go quiet for a brief moment, before the yelling started. Both of you turned around to investigate.

That was when you heard a blaster go off.

You couldn’t tell where the blaster shot had come from or what the target was. But a group of people were going at it, hand to hand, in the center of the market. They haphazardly used their weapons, blasters disregarding any bystanders nearby. Still firmly holding onto the child, you looked around. You and Dyn had your blasters ready, both of you moving to take cover behind a stall close to a ledge.

“The kid?” Din asked.

“He’s fine,” you answered, tucking him in even closer to you behind your robe.

Another shot was fired when you heard a scream that was unlike any of the ones coming from those causing the chaos itself. You stood up a bit to find the source, and saw that it was coming from a woman on the opposite side from you, also trying to hideout. From where you were you could tell that she had been hit, and it looked serious. Someone nearby was trying to calm her down. You were trying not to panic as you sat back down behind the stall. That woman needed help, and fast, but you couldn’t go with the child. Your breathing quickened, but you resolved to wait it out as long as you thought possible.

Only a couple of minutes had passed in total when the uprisers started to retreat without warning. You stood up and scanned the area again, still seeing that woman in the same spot, looking paler. A few others had started to emerge, looking around before going back to their business as if this was just a casual interruption in their day. You both moved away from the wall, taking this as a sign to head quickly back to the ship before any other trouble came up. You glanced at the woman again. She still needed help.

“Stay right behind me,” Din said, blaster in hand.

You handed him the child. “Here, he’s safer with you until we get back,” you urged.

Din took the child without questioning you and started moving towards the exit.

You stopped when you walked by the injured woman, as Din continued forward without noticing. The man helping her saw you and looked up.

“Go,” he said, brushing you off. “I can tell you’re not from around here. It’s not safe, keep going. I can handle this.”

“You need to make a tourniquet around her leg or she’ll lose too much blood,” you answered quickly. “And do you have any med pacs around here?”

“What is it?” Din called, now realizing you were behind and coming back to you.

“I said I can handle it! Please, go!” the man said loudly, more assertively. You hesitated, but started to slowly walk in Din’s direction again, looking back at them with concern.

You hadn’t made it far when you saw the small metal cannister thrown from above land a few meters away from you, its red light flashing rapidly. You didn’t have time to process, only looking at the woman again for a split second before it started beeping.

“ _M_ _ove!_ ” you heard Din yell, followed by the feeling of him tackling you and throwing himself over you. You heard the explosion before both of you landed face-down on the ground, his body over yours, his armor pressed against you. You both grunted at the impact, and you couldn’t see anything but the flames and debris flying in the air, engulfing everything around it. You looked at your side and saw the child, tightly sandwiched between you. Your ears were ringing, and you started panicking when you realized there was no one else around you. No one else made it out.

It hadn’t been more than a few seconds before Din was up again, holding onto the child and helping you stand as you looked at the aftermath in horror.

“We have to go! Now!” he yelled again, gently but firmly pulling you by the arm. You were still frozen, but remembering the kid, you snapped out of it and followed, making a dash for the ship.

~

You’d made it through hyperspace and the ship was now on autopilot. You had calmed down, but were still a bit shaken. You and Din had run into these types of problems before. Even when you had just joined him, the very first hunt you’d been on with him involved plenty of violence. Dangerous situations were routine, and you’d gotten used to them. But this time, you couldn’t get the injured woman and the man’s faces out of your head. Had she been helped more quickly, they might’ve made it away from there.

“I’m sorry,” you said weakly, filling the silence as you both cleaned yourselves off down in the hull, clothes and his armor covered in dirt and sand. Neither of you had gotten seriously hurt, but had you just kept on walking, it could’ve been avoided all together.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Din answered softly, addressing your thoughts rather than the apology.

“I should’ve kept walking,” you said, shaking your head at yourself. “I put you and the child in danger by making you come back for me. It was stupid of me. Both of you could’ve been hurt, and –” you started to stammer, your pulse picking up again as you played everything back in your mind. You looked down at your hands, trying to keep them from shaking.

Din stopped adjusting his armor when he saw the way you looked, and came over to you.

“I didn’t make it that far from where you stopped,” he said, reassurance and kindness in his voice. “You’ve never done anything without having a good reason. And I would’ve come back for you no matter what,” he said. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out and gently touching your face with his bare fingers, as if asking you if he could.

You looked up into his visor and there was a brief awkward silence before you moved closer to him, leaning your cheek lightly on his chest as he delicately wrapped an arm around you. That night on the ice planet, with the helmet and the kiss and everything…that was still fresh in both of your memories. Not that either of you could forget it. Neither of you had ever allowed yourselves to be this close to anyone. This change in physical contact was still new to both of you, as was the shift in your relationship. You were both still getting used to it, and though your feelings and affection for each other were welcome, things were still awkward sometimes when either of you had to pause and think about what was happening before continuing.

“I could’ve helped her,” you whispered. “He wouldn’t let me. I could’ve gotten them out –” Your breathing was faster. “Those were innocent civilians.”

“There was nothing you could’ve done differently to save them,” Din answered, running his fingers through your hair as you tried to slow your breathing. “Not without risking harm to yourself. And I…couldn’t let you do that,” he said after a pause, suddenly tense again. The thought of you putting yourself in harm’s way made Din worry in a way he hadn’t before. He couldn’t ever be angry with you, but he’d felt a type of fear that he wasn’t used to. He could get over being in his own dangerous situations and disregard his own safety, but when it came to you…

He seemed to be searching for the words before continuing. “Please don’t…go running off without me like that again. I couldn’t risk losing _you,_ ” he whispered. You felt his arm tighten around you ever so slightly. The sound of his voice nearly breaking brought tears to your eyes.

You took a deep breath and nodded, moving away and looking back up at him again.

“Thank you. For watching my back,” you said softly, remembering his protective hold over you when you had been too slow to react.

“Always,” he answered, in an even softer voice.

You cleared your throat. “Well, let’s take care of all that,” you said, pointing down at his legs. While it wasn’t serious, bits of shrapnel had hit you both, leaving cuts and scrapes through the fabric of your clothes. He followed you over to the cot and sat down as you laid out your tools. Both of you were quiet, lost in thought as you carefully picked out any remaining pieces of debris, disinfected the cuts and bandaged the areas. How different things were now – these days he’d been letting you treat him, touching his bare but injured skin, with less hesitation. Of course, you still couldn’t properly treat his face, but he insisted that he could handle that just fine. He was stubborn like you, so you wondered how much damage he had actually taken under the helmet.

“Thank you,” he said when you were finished.

“Of course,” you answered. _At least I was able to help someone today_ , you thought to yourself.

~

You were much younger when it happened. Less hardened than you were now. You had barely finished your training and were eager to put it to use, foolishly confident.

You made mistakes doing this job at the beginning. It was one of your patients, a young girl. She had a rare but serious infection, one that didn’t even have a name. It progressed quickly, and she needed surgery immediately. You weren’t prepared enough to handle it alone, but no one else was there and you insisted that you could do it. During the procedure there had been a complication. You had to make a choice, and neither option was good. You froze, and couldn’t figure out what to do. You made the wrong choice, and she hadn’t reacted well. She didn’t make it.

It was the cries you remembered the most. Cries from everyone she knew, who trusted you to save her.

 _How could you do this?_ they screamed, tears in their eyes. _You killed her!_

You tried to hold back your tears, attempted to tell them that the chances of her survival had already been low. But they didn’t hear anything you said. They only saw you as another worthless healer.

 _We heard her screams!_ they told you. _You didn’t help her, and you hurt her instead!_

 _You call yourself a healer? You bring nothing but shame to them,_ one person had spit at you. _Can’t any of you do anything right?_

You kept trying to tell them that it had spread too quickly, that you couldn’t stop it in time. By now you had been cowering on the ground, hating everything about yourself.

 _You couldn’t save her in time._ Those were the words that kept ringing in your head.

~

Your eyes flew open and you got up in a cold sweat after a few moments, leaning on your side onto your elbow. The quiet beeps of the ship reminded you of your surroundings. You blinked, trying to orient yourself as you breathed heavily.

“Hey. You’re okay.” You heard the familiar, unmodulated voice next to you in the darkness, a gentle hand on your shoulder. He was kneeling next to you, moving his hand to your back as he tried to put you at ease.

After leaving that icy planet, you’d been sharing a sleeping quarters with Din. For anyone else, it might have not seemed like much. And he didn’t get much sleep anyways. But for both of you, this was a different level of intimacy which you were both still getting familiar with. Din had his cot on the opposite side of the big space, with the kid in his pod at another end. He removed his armor and helmet when he slept, but it was always dark, so you never saw more than a few glimpses of him. It was just as it was when you had been in the village.

“I –” you started to say, tears starting to come as you realized it was only a nightmare. Your heart was still beating rapidly, but it slowed a little as Din tenderly brushed his fingers along your hair. “Did I wake you?” you mumbled.

“You were moving around quite a bit,” he said, his voice deep and concerned. “Was it about yesterday?” he asked after you went silent.

“No…not really, anyway. But it was related. It was something from my old life.”

Din didn’t say anything, just patiently waited for you to continue. You sat up and folded your legs on your cot as he sat down next to you.

“I…I’ve made mistakes in the past. But there’s one that still haunts me. One that I made because I couldn’t make decisions or _think_ fast enough. I lost a patient because of it. People depended on me to save her, and I…couldn’t. I’d never felt so much hatred for my own incapabilities before. I know now that she likely wouldn’t have made it anyways, and there was nothing that could be done. But I still remember the way they looked at me, the things they said to me. I panicked, and it’s my job to be able to respond during times of panic. And yesterday…I guess it just brought it all back again. I froze. And in doing so, I let you put yourself in danger.” You stopped, trying to calm yourself. “It was foolish. If anything had happened to you or the child because of me, I would never have forgiven –” you stopped when you felt Din put his warm hand on top of yours.

Din had been listening quietly. He didn’t know what to tell you at first. He didn’t know what he could say or do to comfort you. He knew your guilt came from something that wasn’t truly your doing. In his life, he’d done many things that he hadn’t wanted to, but it was part of his job and he tried not to think much of it. But then he found the kid, and met you. You had changed him in more ways than one, and it all happened without him even realizing it. It pained him to see you hurt over anything at all, let alone something that wasn’t your fault.

“What can I do?” he finally said.

“Will you just…stay with me?” you asked, hating how vulnerable you sounded right now.

Din didn’t answer, just moved and pushed your pillow over to you, silently telling you to lie back down. You plopped your head down, still facing him. He carefully pulled your blanket back over you. After another pause, you felt him quietly tuck himself in next to you. He was close enough that you could feel his body heat, but only barely touching you. He was sharing your pillow, and you could feel his chest rising with each breath. You felt the rough fabric of his shirt against you – you weren’t used to him without all the Beskar. It wasn’t cold on the ship anymore, but you suddenly felt so warm. You could see the outline of his jaw, just barely. You reached up slowly and touched his face with your hand, missing the sensation of his skin against yours. His jaw was clenched, but softened at your touch. He exhaled quietly.

“Is this okay?” you whispered to him.

“Yes,” he murmured. You hadn’t been with him like this since that first night, but you had his features memorized. He had crinkles near his eyes which were likely from his concerned gaze. You traced his cheekbone with your fingers, slowly making your way down to his lips. The sharp curves of his face were still rough with a bit of facial hair. You paused and lingered over a long scar across his cheek. Your heart ached a bit as you wondered how he got it, knowing you hadn’t been able to prevent it.

He slowly moved his arm under your neck so you could lay on it like a pillow. He went still for a moment as if wondering what to do next. A few more seconds passed before he draped his other arm over your waist, pulling you in and holding you snugly. He had you in a cozy embrace, and you felt the last of your worried thoughts melt away.

You moved in even closer, nuzzling your head into his neck and putting your hand on his chest.

“Good night, Din,” you said. Your eyelids were heavy and you were already drifting back to sleep when you unexpectedly felt his soft lips gently press a kiss to the top of your head.

It wasn’t long after that Din fell asleep, too. But before he did, he couldn’t help but remember how you thought _he_ was the one comforting you – when in reality, being with you like this gave him all the warmth his soul could ever need. Your quiet, calm breaths were the last thing he heard before dozing off to the thought of how he felt so much safer right now than he had in a long time.


	8. Eight

You liked to think of yourself as more resilient now. A long time ago you were softer, always bending more to avoid being broken. Later on your stubbornness became useful, when you’d had to handle being alone all those years. A long time ago, you might’ve reacted differently to this current…situation. You would’ve been more fearful, less annoyed. But when you had been walking with the child in the market a few hours ago and someone covered your eyes and mouth and roughly pushed you off to who-knows-where, all you could think was, _not this shit again._ **  
**

~

Din had chosen a planet to make a temporary stop on for a quick supply run. It was a swampy, humid place with a tiny population density. It seemed harmless enough. He had stayed on the Crest to recalibrate something while you left to go to the only marketplace nearby. The child had been getting antsy, so you took him with you. You hadn’t even made it halfway to the market when you heard something rustling behind the trees. You pulled out your blaster but it was too late. Someone – or something – who was a lot bigger than you knocked it out of your hand from behind, and slapped their hand over your mouth before you could scream. You felt more hands behind you as they haphazardly blindfolded you, tying your wrists in front of you with a scratchy rope.

“Scream and we’ll shoot you with your own blaster,” a deep, croaky voice said. They slowly uncovered your mouth. _The child_ , you thought. He was still in the bag you were wearing. Why didn’t they take him from you? The giant creature – or whatever – grabbed you by your shoulders and pushed you in some direction, not caring as you tripped over the uneven ground. You heard more than one set of footsteps, and guessed there were about two of them with you. You couldn’t tell how far you’d walked when you felt the ground become smooth – you were in a building of some sort. A door shut and your boots squeaked on the floor as they pushed you further along. Eventually you came to a stop and those giant hands pushed you hard onto the floor. 

Suddenly, you felt hands grabbing at your bag. The child. 

“Hey!” you yelled, angrier now. They ignored you as you heard them open a crate and put the kid in, slamming the lid shut. 

“If you hurt him, there will be consequences,” you practically growled at them.

Laughter followed. “You hear that? She thinks we’re after his pet,” a man said in an accent you didn’t recognize. They chuckled, mocking you.

“Sweetheart,” the other man said, “we don’t care what that thing is.”

So they must’ve had a personal issue with Din. You breathed a little more heavily before you answered him. “What do you want?”

You heard heavy footsteps coming towards you. You felt them squat to your level before ripping the fabric off your eyes. You didn’t know what to expect, but your eyes were already full of rage. There might have been the smallest amount of fear in you, but you wouldn’t let that show. Your eyes glared at the large man in front of you, who was pointing at you with a knife. He was an actual giant, easily bigger than Din. You saw that he had many other blades attached to him. You gave your surroundings a quick glance. You were in a warehouse. It was cluttered with metal objects you’d never seen, along with a few racks and large crates. There was only one door, the one you went through. You could try to run for it, but it was probably locked. There was also the other man you heard, sitting casually on a crate. He was scrawny, almost enough to convince yourself that you could fight him if it weren’t for all the weapons he was wearing. He was playing with your blaster. 

“You’re nothing to us,” the scrawny guy answered simply. “But we can see Mando’s chosen you as his new companion. That makes you the perfect bait. It’s lucky we ran across you instead of having to go find him. You see, Mando left our team a while ago, then betrayed some of our mates. It’s only fair that we make it even.”

You knew then that they truly didn’t care to steal the child. You hadn’t been paying much attention to anything else they said, because you were analyzing the giant one in front of you. Neither of them seemed terribly concerned about you getting loose, so you had one chance to catch them off-guard. They needed you relatively unharmed if they wanted to use you as bait, so they wouldn’t do anything dramatic yet. Your adrenaline had been kicking in as they spoke.

You were still kneeling on the floor, and when the man in front of you turned to say something, you took the opportunity to push yourself off the ground and kick him as hard as you could in the face while he was still squatting. You heard him grunt in pain as he stumbled backwards to the floor. You had to have hit him hard enough to break something. Before either of the men had a chance to react, you slammed your heel onto his wrist, allowing you to grab the knife from him with both hands. You tried to run behind a crate for cover but they caught up and grabbed you by the arms, pushing you to the ground with more force than they had the first time.

The giant’s nose was bleeding and he was clearly pissed that you managed to hurt him at all. He ripped the blade out of your hands and grinned as he used it to slice a gash across your face in one quick motion – you let out a small yelp. You couldn’t tell how deep it was, but warm blood was starting to come out of it. 

“Nice try, girl,” the scrawny one said, sneering. He leaned down, looking closely at your cut and then turning back to the giant. “I wonder if our Mando will mind if we send her back like this,” he said, both of them laughing again. 

As they turned away to load up their weapons in preparation, you noticed that the knot in the rope around your wrists had loosened a bit. _These idiots can’t even tie a knot_ , you thought. You kept your hands together but managed to discreetly untie it with your thumbs, leaving the rope draped over your wrists.

As if on cue, the entry door exploded in flames. All three of you had been close enough to be impacted by the force of it. Din kicked it out of the way, stepping in as the air filling with smoke. He said nothing, immediately shooting the blaster out of the scrawny guy’s hand, pointing his blaster at him while aiming his vambrace at the giant guy. You were on the floor in between them. They seemed unfazed.

“Well, if it isn’t our Mando. It’s been a long time.”

“Mar,” he called the scrawny one. “Hudge. Let her go. Now,” he said, almost spitting out the command.

“Sure thing, Mando. It’s not her that we want,” Hudge, the giant guy, teased. He pulled you up and shoved you forward towards Din. You gave him a look that said “I’m okay,” but he turned his head just slightly towards you when he saw the gash on your cheek. It was only a split second distraction, but it was enough time for Mar and Hudge to charge at Din. Mar had whipped out another blaster while Hudge used only muscle and his dagger. Din pushed you out of the way as several blaster shots went off. You couldn’t tell if they’d hit anyone. You released your wrists from the rope. Your first instinct was to run and grab the small crate they’d put the child in, dragging it closer to the exit. Din managed to shoot Mar in the leg, and he fell with a groan. But while he continued to fight Hudge, he took a few too many hits and didn’t see that Mar had pulled out yet another blaster and had aimed it at him from behind. 

An idea clicked in your mind and you darted towards Din. You hadn’t made it to him yet when Mar fired the blaster into Din’s side while Hudge was still going at him. You thought you heard it hit the Beskar, but didn’t have time to think as you went behind Din, quickly reaching around him and expertly unclipping his pulse rifle without him realizing what you were doing. You swung around and smashed the end across Mar’s face with a grunt, knocking him unconscious. When you turned back around, Din was unsteady while Hudge had the upper hand. Knowing you couldn’t take him alone, you still charged at him with the rifle, deciding last minute to punch upwards against his jaw, which he wasn’t prepared to block. As he moved backwards, you took a blade from his belt and stabbed it into his thigh, resulting in a loud scream. Somehow that was enough to make him fall over, but he still got up and looked ready to finish you. You managed to block a few of his swings with the rifle, but he was faster than you and slapped it out of your grip. He was about to take a last hit at you when a blaster shot went off from behind you, hitting Hudge in the chest and taking him out as he fell with a big thud. You turned and saw Din on the ground with his blaster raised.

You grabbed the rifle and ran over to him. “Din!” you yelled, holding him by the arms and inspecting for damage. You saw the tears and bloodstains in his clothes but couldn’t see whether they were caused by the blasters, knives or both.

“I’m fine,” he said, though his voice was rough. “Where’s the kid?”

You dashed over to the small crate and opened it, finding the little one unharmed, his big eyes peering up at you. You picked him up and went back over to Din. 

“Come on, let’s get out of here before that one wakes up,” you pointed at Mar lying on the ground. “I’ve got you.” You put an arm under his shoulder and did your best to lift him up. He was able to stand but could barely walk on his own. You held the kid in one arm, keeping one arm wrapped around Din as you helped him slowly stumble back to the Crest.

~

Once you were back on the ship, you were standing in front of Din, trying to look more carefully at what needed treatment. 

“It’s fine,” he said. “Just a shot.”

“You were hit multiple times,” you told him. “Even if they didn’t all go deep, I need to see them.” You put on a small smile to calm him, but the feigned smile faded when you sensed something was wrong.

“Din?” He’d become more silent than usual, and you thought you heard his breathing change. You put your hand on his waist, but pulled it away when you felt the wetness of his shirt. You looked at your hand, and saw it covered in blood. 

“What – Din!” you yelled as he collapsed onto you. You had been quick to wrap your arm around him, but he was too heavy for you to hold up on your own. Both of you fell to the floor, your bottom hitting the ground before he did as you tried to support him. You positioned yourself with one leg crossed and the other stretched out, shifting him so that he was lying on your lap.

You quickly checked his pulse and breathing, mildly relieved when both were present although weak. Prying his shirt away from the shot wound in his right side, you were horrified to find that he was bleeding out a lot more than he’d let on. You’d thought that last shot had hit his armor, but it hadn’t. Thankfully it hadn’t hit higher up, but it was still a dangerous area to be bleeding out of and you didn’t know how you were going to fix the internal damage. You had no idea how he’d even stayed conscious for this long. The dark fabric and his arm had hidden how large the stain had gotten, and you immediately grabbed a piece of cloth from nearby to put pressure on the wound. You tried not to panic as you got up, holding the fabric there as you dragged him from under the arms over to a mat on the other side of the floor. You wouldn’t be able to get him onto the cot alone, so this would have to do. You put a pillow under his head and kneeled next to him as you lifted the cloth up to inspect the wound more. 

The child cooed as he peeked over at you with those big curious eyes. He had been perfectly gurgly and happy on the walk back, unbothered by the earlier events and the fact that he’d been trapped in a box.

“Alright, little one. It’d be great if you were big enough to help me keep the pressure on this while I go get the med kit,” you muttered, mostly to yourself. You had no choice but to leave Din for a moment to grab the kit and ran to it as fast as you could. You’d only been gone for a few seconds, but when you came back you saw the kid was hovering over Din, appearing to be looking at the wound.

“Hey, I was just kidding,” you said, hurriedly putting the kit down next to him. You had barely pulled out the bottle of antiseptic when you saw the kid reaching out with his hand, almost as if trying to touch the wound. “Wait, don’t –” you started to say, but were silenced when you saw the expression in his eyes as he put his little hand on Din’s shot injury. 

He looked so focused with his eyes squinting, and you were so confused that it momentarily distracted you from the injury itself. When you looked back at Din, you were taken aback by the fact that the blood was receding, and the open wound was sealing itself right before your eyes. In a matter of seconds, the wound was almost completely gone and the blood had started to scab over. But the child must have used too much of his energy or something because he fell to the ground before he could finish…whatever he was doing. The wound was nearly closed, with just a bit of blood still coming out but it was worlds better than it was before. Your brows were furrowed in shock as you cut the fabric away from the area, fingers searching for other remains of the damage, but found minimal signs.

 _What in the…_ you thought to yourself. You raked your brain and remembered hearing something about a group of beings who could use their minds to channel the force in various ways. The Jedi, they were called. Din had mentioned the kid doing something strange like this once. He had saved him from a mudhorn by getting him out of the way. You hadn’t known the specifics of what happened. But this didn’t make any sense. The little one had physically healed the wound, almost reversing the damage – how? You didn’t have time to linger over an answer now.

“Um…good job,” you said to the kid, still looking at him with wonder. He seemed to be asleep now, or resting. Gently moving the kid onto the cot, you turned your attention back to Din. You checked his pulse again, exhaling in relief after finding it steady and strong again. You had a feeling you didn’t need to, but you pulled his sleeves and pant legs up to check for other signs of damage – there were still cuts and scrapes that would need treatment, but they were nowhere near as severe as they should’ve been. _What the hell just happened?_

Din was most likely healed, but he was still asleep, or unconscious. It was probably the latter, because he didn’t move at all while you went to clean and bandage the scrapes that had been leftover. You left his armor on but lifted each piece a bit to make sure there weren’t anymore hidden injuries – you didn’t check under his helmet, of course. After you were satisfied with your work on him you quickly swiped some stinging antiseptic solution over the cut on your face so that it didn’t look as nasty. 

You turned off the lamps to let him recover as much as he could – his being unwillingly unconscious was the only way to get him to rest as much as he needed sometimes.

~

You were silently watching over Din and the kid, leaning back against the wall on the floor. Your body ached but you still let out a sigh of relief when you thought of how everyone was safe despite how bad the situation had gotten. Din suddenly stirred, groaning quietly as he woke up. You instantly moved over to him and turned on a dim lamp nearby, kneeling by his side facing him and gently placing your hand on his arm.

“Hi,” you whispered. “I’m here.” The last few hours had happened in a blur even for you, so you couldn’t imagine how out of it he must’ve been.

Din quietly put his hand over where the shot was, but was surprised when he didn’t feel that much pain. He moved his hand around, as if trying to find where the wound was.

“I don’t know how to tell you this – but the little one did that,” you said. “He… it’s like he reversed the injury. Almost all of it.”

Din was still lying down but turned his head to look at the kid, who was still asleep. “There are no signs of damage?” he finally asked.

“You still had minor injuries. I already took care of those. But…they didn’t look as serious as they should have,” you answered. You must’ve sounded slightly crazy. But Din seemed unsurprised, as if weirder things had happened.

“Do you think it’s like what he did before? With the mudhorn?” you asked, curiously. 

He pondered for a moment. “Yes,” he said. “I’m guessing the injury was too great and he didn’t have enough in him to heal it fully. When he saved me from the mudhorn, he was asleep – or mentally injured – for many hours.”

“Well, considering he took care of most of it, it looks like I’m out of a job,” you joked. You expected him to sigh in response, but instead he lifted his arm and put his hand lightly on top of yours, the warmth a contrast to your cold hands. He was looking intensely at you, and you knew it. You felt your cheeks warming a bit.

“You took quite a spill. You need to keep resting,” you said, looking into his visor.

“I’m fine,” he protested.

“That’s exactly what you said when you fell onto me,” you said, your voice soft but teasing. You turned off the lamp and took the kid with you, leaving him to sleep.

~

You were napping on the cot next to Din – if you considered lulling in and out of a daze “napping.” The last 24 hours of events were replaying in your mind. You knew those guys had a slim chance of winning to begin with, but they had gotten away with more than you would’ve expected. At this point, maybe you were just tired but you felt rather desensitized to all the dangers you’d been exposed to lately. They didn’t have the same effect on you as they did earlier on in your travels with Din. Maybe that was a good thing. Threats, weapons, attacks – they didn’t faze you much anymore. Not unless they concerned Din or the child, in which case they brought out your most fierce and protective instincts. 

The sound of Din quietly groaning pulled you back to reality. He called your name, still half-asleep. He started fumbling with his pillow, trying to sit up.

“I’m still here,” you answered, going over to him. You supported his back and helped prop him upright against the wall.

He didn’t say anything else but you saw that he was holding out his hand, reaching for yours. You took it gently. You savored this silent language of touch that you’d both adapted to. Few words were ever needed, and you were able to communicate everything you needed to say whenever his warm skin touched yours.

“Feeling better?” you asked, sitting down at his side.

“Yes. Whatever the kid was doing, I think it worked internally, as well.”

“Well, good. I meant to ask you once you felt well enough…I need you to take off your helmet. Don’t worry, I won’t look. And I’ll leave the lights off. I can patch a lot of things up with my eyes closed. But considering how bad your injuries were and the fact that you took some hits to the head, there’s a good chance the same damage happened under your helmet, even if the kid was able to fix some of it,” you said, feeling awkward again. 

Din sensed that you were uncomfortable. He knew you wouldn’t ask him unless you felt it was absolutely necessary, and he’d let it happen willingly that one time…but you still lowered your voice a bit when you’d asked, something he found endearing. He’d shared your sleeping space with you many times since that night he’d comforted you after the nightmare. He would hold you until both of you drifted off to sleep, rarely needing to say much. Since that night, you’d both grown more comfortable with each other physically and with your relationship, and the touches you shared were more open and less hesitant. You were closer than you’d ever been. But you’d never actually treated his face yourself, because it was never that serious – he’d always done it himself. He didn’t want this to be a barrier between you – and you were always careful, anyways.

“Alright,” he said. His voice was heavy but not hesitant.

Din reached up and quietly removed his helmet. It was dark and you couldn’t see, but you heard his soft breathing fill the silence. The med kit was already next to you, and after putting your gloves on you reached up to check for any damage. You moved your fingers across his skin, feeling for any cuts but finding nothing except maybe a few scrapes. There was also probably a bit of bruising. _The little one really did do a good job_ , you thought to yourself. It was a strange sensation, almost as if you were touching his face for the first time – you’d already memorized the outlines and contours of his face, but now doing this through a healer’s eyes, it felt odd. You disinfected the scrapes with some antiseptic pads, and felt him flinch a bit at the sting.

“Sorry,” you said in a hushed voice. “The child definitely worked some magic, though. I didn’t have to do much.”

You had been leaning over him at an uncomfortable angle to do all of this, and retreated back to sitting on your knees before taking off your gloves and putting all the supplies off to the side. You started to stand when Din gently touched your arm, his fingers brushing along your skin.

“Wait…” he said. You sat back down, looking in his direction patiently.

“Can you just…come here?” he finally said, his voice wavering a bit.

“I _am_ here,” you answered quietly, although your heartbeat picked up because you knew that wasn’t quite what he meant.

You felt his soft hand touch your cheek. _That touch. It could soften the most stone-cold heart_ , you thought. You reached up and put your hand over his. Your hand was much smaller than his, but your fingers fit perfectly in between his. Abruptly, Din moved his hands and lifted you by the waist onto his lap, catching you off-guard. Despite his injuries, he did it with so little effort, almost as if you were weightless. You were sitting facing him with both of your legs bent to one side, and felt the coldness of the Beskar under you.

“Din, you’re still not fully healed –” you began to say, not wanting to worsen any of his wounds with your movements.

“They hurt you, too,” was all he answered. In all that had happened you’d forgotten about the knife and the cut on your cheek. You hadn’t even noticed it aside from the quick antiseptic wipe. You felt Din softly brush the backs of his fingers against your cheek where the cut was. He stiffened ever so slightly when you grimaced a bit.

“It’s okay, Din,” you said, cupping his face with your hand. Your face was so close to his now, and you wanted badly to close the space between you. “I’m not the one who suffered the most damage here. They could’ve…your injuries could’ve been much worse,” your voice faltered. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if the child hadn’t helped.” You could tell he was angry when you felt the crinkles around his eyes.

Din had been frustrated at his inability to stop them sooner. Yes, he’d been hurt pretty badly. You rarely asked, but were aware of his rough past. It was a long time ago and he’d left them behind. But this time they found him and included _you_ in their game, and he would disintegrate anybodywho ever thought about doing that again. 

His jaw became tense, but softened when you started tracing your fingers along his face. You couldn’t do what the kid could with his hands, but somehow your gentle touches always made his world feel safe again, and that was something no one else had been able to do. He remembered how you’d looked when fighting earlier. You looked so unhinged, yet composed at the same time. 

“You always manage to worry more about anyone else than yourself,” he whispered.

“That’s because the people I associate with always manage to get themselves into trouble,” you said, your tone playful.

You were still sitting on his lap and awkwardly shifted your weight in case there were any bruises. At this level, you sat a bit taller than he did. You moved your fingers up, running them through his tousled hair. You hadn’t kissed him again since that first time, and you’d missed the feeling of warmth it had brought you. Din had his hands on your waist, and for a minute you both sat in silence as you traced the outlines of his face like you’d done so many times before. You remembered all the details just through touch. Din took your face in his hands and you imagined you could gaze into his brown eyes in the darkness. For another few moments there was nothing but the sounds of your quiet breathing. 

“I missed you,” you whispered. You hadn’t finished your next thought when he brought your face down to him and softly kissed the corner of your lips. Then his lips met yours, with even more longing than the very first time. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him in closer to you. His kisses were slow but almost desperate, both of you trying to savor every sensation and making up for lost time. His hand gently rested on the back of your neck and every point of his skin on yours was like electricity. As your lips moved against his, Din gently caressed your face, running his fingers slowly through your hair. When you moved to touch his face again, he placed a single kiss down on your neck, sending a shiver through you and making you gasp quietly. You ran your thumb along his lips, feeling his light breaths before he kissed your lips again. He had his arms around you, his hands on your back, holding you tightly in an embrace you never wanted to break from. 

~

You drowsily opened your eyes, forgetting where you were for a second. You were on the floor, where you and Din had eventually fallen asleep. You felt him next to you, lying on his pillow while your head was comfortable on his chest, your arm across his stomach. He had an arm around you, and you could feel cold Beskar surrounding you along with the steady rise and fall of his chest. You could just barely hear his peaceful breathing, so his helmet was still off. You adjusted your positioning a bit, the movement causing him to subconsciously wrap his arm around you a little more firmly. _If every night were like this, it would be hard for you to remember what it was like to be alone_ , you thought to yourself. Neither of you were very used to sharing verbal affection yet, but you hoped he thought the same.


	9. Nine

“Why are you landing it all the way over here?” you asked. From the air you could see the main town on Nevarro in the distance, but the Crest was descending further away, towards the open area with a few scanty trees. It was where the current bounty needed to be delivered, and according to Din, this one would pay more than what the last few had because someone named Greef owed him a favor.

“It’s supposed to be safe now that Cara’s here, but I don’t want to take any chances in case there’s still trouble around,” Din said. 

You had your doubts about going back anywhere that he’d almost been killed before, but you’d heard all the stories he told you about Cara, and you trusted her solely based on the fact that he did. She had helped save his life. You were glad to know he hadn’t always been alone.

————————

It was a bit of a walk from the ship to meet Greef by the edges of the town. After brief introductions, Din handed the tracking fobs over to Greef as he signaled for a couple of his associates to go collect the bounty from the Crest. He invited you to join him and his crew on his walk back into town. You had both brought along some of your belongings, and followed them to find Cara.

You walked side-by-side on the bumpy path, Din’s hand occasionally reaching behind to the small of your back as the two of you moved along. It was sunny but the slight breeze made the air comfortable. You were both quiet as the crew chattered amongst themselves. The little one was starting to fidget in your arms, wanting to be put into the bag you usually kept around your waist. You shifted the bag off your shoulder to move him.

“Can you help me with this, Mando?” you said, handing him your pack. The corners of your mouth twitched trying to hold back the small grin as you said it, catching his reaction. His head tilted just slightly at you, and you knew he was either just as amused as you were, or at least playfully offended. 

This was the routine method whenever you had to interact with strangers on any planet. He was ‘Mando’ with others, and you’d always assumed ‘Din’ was something only you were meant to know. You even avoided touching each other when outside the confines of privacy – it was just something you were both still awkward about. But you hadn’t really interacted with many others in a long time. It had been just you two for a while, and your relationship had changed since then. 

Din had now grown used to hearing his true name when you were around, and often yearned to hear you say it. Hecraved being around _you_. So hearing you call him ‘Mando’ for the first time in so long caught him off-guard. It almost sounded wrong coming from your lips. At this point, his name practically belonged to you alone.

He gave you a slight nod as he took the bag from you, trying not to focus on the sensation of your hand through his gloved fingers lingering for just a few seconds longer than necessary.

————————

You and Cara had taken well to each other instantly from the start, despite the fact that you knew she trusted people just about as often as Din did. You saw a lot of the same traits as Din in her, and it was refreshing to have someone who so quickly became a friend. It didn’t take long for you to realize you had plenty in common with her; despite your different situations you were alike in spirit.

You stayed with her and the little one in the cantina as Din went with Greef to settle some arrangements for the next bounty. The kid cooed from the ground, reaching up for you until you picked him up and cradled him. 

“The kid’s just as attached to you as he is to Mando,” Cara noted, smiling. You thought you sensed a hidden meaning in her words. “He ever tell you he tried to kill me once?” she added jokingly.

“He’s definitely able to manipulate what he wants,” you chuckled. Your grin faded a bit when you remembered how he helped heal Din when you almost hadn’t been able to.

“He’s adjusted to having company,” Cara observed, referring to Din.

“We’ve both adjusted, I think,” you answered. “I don’t think either of us were used to having anybody else around when we met. I was on my own for a long time. It’s good that we…work well together,” you added, hoping she didn’t catch the redness in your cheeks. You had Din to yourself in private, but you hadn’t quite admitted that out loud yet.

Another minute passed before she spoke again. “It’s possible for someone to get _too_ used to being alone,” she said, though you weren’t sure she meant it for only you. “It’s a good thing you don’t have to be anymore.”

———————

A couple of hours passed before Din returned. You told them you would go find Greef so he could show you where you could stay until you left Nevarro, and maybe also see if anyone could use your help around here. You knew Din and Cara had plenty to catch up on, and that there were certain things they would only want to discuss with each other – things that had happened here. He was holding the child, who reached for you again so you took him in your arms to bring him along.

“Your blaster,” he said as you left, poorly concealing the concern in his voice as he reached out and not-so-subtly tapped your holster as a reminder. 

“I’ll be fine. No one knows me here,” you answered. You glanced at Cara, who was looking back and forth at you and Din, amused. You felt self-conscious suddenly, and just placed a hand lightly on his shoulder before turning and walking out the door. You looked back at him one time, your small smile reassuring.

“You’ve gone softer since the last time we saw each other,” Cara remarked as soon as you were gone.

“What do you mean?” he answered, attempting to remain monotone.

“I didn’t think you could be more protective of anyone than the kid. Looks like I was wrong,” she said, smirking and nodding her head in your direction.

“No, we…” he started to say, keeping his voice steady.

“Look, you aren’t fooling anyone with your attempts to interact nonchalantly with each other around us. Maybe I can’t see your face, but I’ve seen hers.” Cara’s tone was teasing, but Din knew she was too smart to argue with.

“She’s done a lot for me. I have a lot to thank her for,” he said simply.

“Yeah, I bet,” Cara said. She grinned at him but didn’t push further as he fell back into silence. He figured she could see through everything, anyways.

———————

The events of the day had calmed as the sun went down. You were alone with your thoughts while Din was outside getting some last things together for tomorrow. Greef let you stay in one of his spare lodgings for the night and you were ready for some much needed rest. You were sitting on a thin mat on the floor, brushing your hair before stretching your legs and lying down on the soft pillow. He would be back soon so you left the lamp on.

You thought about your conversation with Cara earlier, how she said it was possible to be too comfortable with isolation. She was right, of course. There were many times where you would lie awake surprised at how much you’d changed. At one time, when you’d gotten used to and even enjoyed being alone, you didn’t think you could ever be the type who longed for the presence of another. You were on your own for so long – how was it possible to have interacted with so many people and still have felt so alone? Your life’s calling was to help others – it wasn’t possible to do that without caring for them. But you could care for your patients and somehow remain detached. It was one-sided and you had no need for them to share the feeling. But allowing your repressed emotions to surface and being able to give them to another person who did the same…that was new to you, and it was something you never thought you could have. 

You’d managed being alone fairly well, and hadn’t been able to let anyone in for a long time. Now that you had, you didn’t expect it to hit you like this – that the thought of living any other way would be unbearable. How you could feel your heart swell whenever he pressed a light kiss to your forehead… 

Din came back in carrying the kid, breaking your train of thought and shutting the door behind him as he put him down to waddle around the floor.

“Hey,” you greeted him. “Everything alright today?” Din had been even quieter than usual today. You attributed it to his memories of everything that had happened here on Nevarro.

“Yes. Why?” He sat down next to you, entertaining the child before getting ready to put him in his pod.

“I don’t know…I imagine it’s been hard for you to be back here." 

"I’m fine,” he answered softly. After putting the kid down to bed, he removed his gloves and armor before reaching over to turn off the lamp, everything turning to black. You heard him quietly take his helmet off and set it aside, pulling the thin blanket over both of you as he laid down next to you.

You rolled onto your side to face him. “You’re sure?” you whispered. He was facing you, though you could barely see much of him in the dark.

He didn’t answer and you both fell quiet. You were inches away from him, not quite touching but close enough to feel his quiet breathing. 

Din’s mind became unexpectedly heavy. Your concern for him was accurate, but misdirected. Somehow you had sensed there was something nagging at his mind, something he didn’t even realize was there. He just didn’t know what it was – but it definitely wasn’t Nevarro on his mind.

Wordlessly, he placed a gentle hand on your face, delicately stroking your cheek. The sound of your quiet sigh immediately brought him a sense of security, the feeling of a home he’d never really had.

You laid there quietly, savoring his embrace for a few moments before moving to rest your own hand on the curve of his neck. His skin was warm against your cool fingers.

He pulled your face even closer to his and gently leaned into you, lightly pressing his forehead to yours. He brushed your hair behind you ear, his fingers running through the strands. For Din, it never mattered that you’d already kissed before; every touch from you was like new, sending shivers through his skin…and he could never get enough. 

You moved your hand towards his jaw, tracing your fingers lightly over his lips and feeling the rough contrast of his facial hair. You felt him exhale lightly as you took your hand away, nuzzling into his neck and getting into a cozy position as you closed your eyes. 

Though you and Din were rarely around anybody else while traveling, you still only shared your fleeting, quiet moments of embrace while completely alone on the ship. You preferred it this way. Your most intimate moments had been shared in the dark, his helmet off and you in his arms. The dark was a lonely place for some, but it wasn’t for you. 

———————

The next afternoon, the two of you were walking through town with Cara. She was showing you the improvements that had been made ever since the Imperials were driven out, but left for a few minutes when Greef called her over for a favor. 

You and Din kept walking when two hefty-looking guys approached you, distaste in their eyes and their arms crossed. You didn’t recognize either of them, and based on his posture change, neither did Din.

“Can we help you with something?” Din asked sarcastically.

“We heard about you, Mando. What you did. How you were back in town,” one of them snarled. “You betrayed the guild, and for whatever reason Greef let you back in. With better pay than the rest of us.”

You wanted to sideline this, so you stepped around them, tugging Din by the arm with you. He started to follow you, but not before one of the guys stepped in front of you and pushed both of you back.

Din instinctively put an arm in front of you, pushing you behind him. “Hey, we don’t want any trouble, so _back off_ ,” he said, calmly but with assertion in his tone.

Evidently, they did want trouble, because both of them pulled out their blasters. Din immediately slapped one of them out of the way, causing the man to engage with a knife instead. He took aggressive hits at Din, while the other guy had his eyes on you.

It seemed like the guy didn’t want to actually hit you with it. This probably wasn’t meant to escalate beyond their arrogant insults. Either that or he was a terrible shot, because he fired the blaster four feet in front of you and only managed to graze the side of your upper arm, breaking the skin underneath your shirt. You didn’t even flinch, though you knew it would bleed. Din looked over at you but due to your lack of reaction, didn’t realize it had hit you.

Din shot the guy in front of you in the leg, knocking him to the ground as he yelped and retreated. The other man grunted and you heard Din swear before knocking the guy out with a swing of his arm. 

“Are you okay?” you asked, although you already saw the large rip in his sleeve.

Din nodded in response, brushing off your concern. “Are you hurt?” 

“I – no, he’s got worse aim than me,” you lied, turning your injured arm away from him. He nodded again and took you by the wrist, both of you quickly walking back to find Cara.

————————

“What happened?” Cara asked, taking in the cut in Din’s arm. You were neatly treating it; it was just a minor injury, for once. The man had raked the knife across his arm but it wasn’t enough to cause severe bleeding.

“Didn’t know you still had amateur hunters hanging around,” he answered. “They weren’t happy with us. With me.”

Cara looked at you, scanning you for wounds and satisfied when she didn’t see any. “Well, we’ve got them all here now. The rookies are all talk. A lot of them are nervous that they’ve been useless to the guild,” she said casually. 

You had covered the scrape wound on your arm earlier by slinging your jacket over you. You would clean it up later and you didn’t want Din to worry – it wasn’t serious enough for that, but he would worry anyway if he saw it. He’d had enough bad memories from this place.

———————–

When it was time to leave Nevarro that evening, Cara and a couple of Greef’s crew members joined you on your trip back to the Crest – in case there was any more trouble, she’d insisted. It wasn’t a long walk but it was getting dark out, so you’d stopped halfway there to camp out for a few hours until it was light enough to see the way through the rough path. Everyone had spread out, you and Din taking a spot further from the fire they built. Cara had conveniently decided to leave you to yourselves, hunkering down on the opposite side mostly out of sight.

You were changing the dressing on Din’s arm with small, precise movements that had long become muscle-memory. Your materials were laid out on a small cloth.

You had to reach over him to grab the extra roll of gauze. But when you did, you stretched your injured arm a bit too far and winced, pulling your arm away and immediately attempting to suppress the sudden sting that came over you. _Crap_ , you thought, knowing you’d given yourself away.

“You’re hurt,” he said, sitting up straighter. It was a statement, not a question. You could hear the anger in his voice when he realized what caused it.

You tugged at your sleeve over the gash, trying to unstick it from the blood. “It’s small. It’s nothing,” you conceded. You went back to patching up the rest of the abrasion on his arm, ignoring the fact that he was watching you intensely.

He let you finish what you were doing but as soon as you started to put your kit away, Din briskly reached for your arm, rolling the sleeve up to reveal the bloody gauze covering the gash and tilted his head at you as if to say, _that’s not ‘nothing’_. His ungloved hand was gently holding your elbow.

“I’ve already treated it and I know enough to know it’ll heal just fine,” you said quietly as you pulled your sleeve back down. “It won’t even scar. And I believe you hired _me_ to do all the worrying about injuries,” you added playfully, moving your arm away.

His posture softened, but his voice was still serious. “You’ve got to stop thinking of yourself as a crew member,” he said quietly.

“I don’t think that,” you muttered in response. “I’m a healer. My aim may not be great and I’m not much help in a fight, but it’s my job to take care of…everyone.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to disregard it when you get hurt,” he objected. You looked away, your heart fluttering a little at his protectiveness over you. He sighed, but seeing that you weren’t in immediate danger, let the subject drop for the time being.

The sun had set and the purple sky had already faded into darkness, leaving the brightness of the fire as the only source lighting up your surroundings. The soft crackling of the burning wood was the main sound filling the air.

You were leaning back against your large bags, your shoulder against his. You both watched the little one playing with Cara over on her side. It made you smile seeing how the kid could soften just about any soldier’s heart. 

After a minute, Din moved to pull you in towards him, stopping for a moment before fully wrapping his arms around you. It was something he still did sometimes before he took you in his arms – he would linger for just a moment, not with hesitation but as if wondering if it was still okay for him to continue, questioning if you still wanted him to. As if you would ever be opposed to being so close to him, in his gentle embrace. 

You inched closer into his hold and he took it as an approval, effortlessly bringing you closer in one movement before his arms relaxed around you. You nestled into him, your cheek on the Beskar. Even with all the armor, you felt warm resting against him. Whenever he held you like this, it wasn’t long before you drifted off to the sound of his heartbeat.

An hour or so went by, but Din always found it hard to sleep. Still, he never minded silently getting lost in his thoughts like he always did at night on the Crest with you wrapped delicately in his arms, the two of you under a blanket that could never make him as warm as you made him feel. There were nights where you would stir in your sleep, and he would run his fingers along your hair and back until you fell back into a peaceful slumber. He didn’t always know what troubled you in your sleep, but of all people you deserved some peace. Sometimes your light snores would make him smile, his heart softening more for you than he thought it already had. 

He’d sensed you were still afraid of stepping too far with him, but you didn’t realize that he felt the need to be careful with you, too. He cherished the few passionate kisses and embraces you’d shared, but it was like he was still imagining it was all real – how his fondness for you had turned intimate, and how you reciprocated that feeling.

You readjusted yourself against him, the tiny movement bringing him back to the present. He looked down at you in his arms now, fast asleep and breathing softly, your hair messy and in your face. With his free hand he gently combed it back behind your ears and out of your way. His fingers softly grazed against your cheek, making you subconsciously nestle into him even more. You were tucked neatly into the nook of his shoulder, your cheek against his chest and your arm splayed over his stomach where the Beskar wasn’t covering him. It hurt him a bit to bring his attention back to your arm, still covered by the sleeve. It was another wound he couldn’t protect you from. No matter how minor the injury, he’d do anything to keep you from being hurt at all. Hell, he’d developed that protective instinct over you the day you met, when you’d insisted on patching up his wound. But you were stubborn and nothing he said would stop you from trying to protect _him_. 

There were many times where he felt he didn’t deserve to have this, didn’t deserve to be with you. There was a lot to process, all the while still facing the code he had instilled into his being. 

He could never repay the Mandalorians for everything they’d done for him. They’d given him everything and made him into who he was, but something had always been missing. He never really knew what that was until he met you. He was well-trained in many things, but being able to connect with others wasn’t one of them. He never said much, to anyone – he kept his distance. Everything stayed hidden behind the armor and affection wasn’t something he knew how to give properly. But you never minded at all, and somehow without many words passing between you in the beginning, you had gotten through to him. He’d gone most of his life devoid of and starved for human connection and touch. But here he was, with you in his arms…it made him feel whole when he had been so used to being alone. Din felt his chest constrict as he reminded himself that somehow, _you_ had fallen for him, as well.

————————

“Still not getting enough sleep these days?” Cara asked.

“Not tonight,” Din answered as he sat down on the ground next to her. He could still see you, fast asleep on the ground on the other side of the fire. It would be dawn soon, and he’d gently supported your head and covered you with his cape before he’d gotten up to go talk to Cara, who was often an insomniac just like he was.

Cara noticed his gentle gaze towards you. “What are you afraid of?” she asked him, without any hint of taunting in her voice.

“I’m not,” he said curtly.

“Uh huh. I can tell that your…relationship is comfortable, but I’d like to point out the fact that you seem to question yourself every time she even looks at you.”

He was silent for a while before answering. “I’m not used to physical contact. With anybody,” he said, and while this was true, he could hear the denial in his voice.

“Look, I don’t want to know any details,” Cara remarked with a small grin, “But I think you should accept the feeling that has obviously overcome you. I mean, honestly, you’re wearing a _helmet_ and I can imagine the way you look at her.“

“I care a lot about her,” was all he said.

“Of course you do,” Cara shook her head, as if he was stating the obvious. “ _And_ , you…?”

Din’s attention went back to you when you started to fidget in your sleep on the ground, curling your legs in from the chill.

“And I should go check on her,” he replied simply, standing up to go back over to you.

Din quietly sat back down next to you, trying not to disturb you as he delicately moved you from the bag you were lying on, back into his arms. He shifted his weight onto his other leg as he leaned back and you groggily repositioned your arm, moving your hand further across his chest. For him, everything suddenly became clear. He turned his head in Cara’s direction before looking down at you, his eyes soft behind the helmet as he thought of her words regarding what he felt about you. _Yes_ , he realized, hearing the word clearly in his head. _He_ _did_. 


	10. Ten

“I told you the armor wasn’t warm enough,” you muttered to yourself, shaking your head. You were compiling more blankets in your arms, including the ones you’d bought on the last planet you came from. “ _I’m used to the cold_ ,” he’d always insisted whenever you questioned if he had enough layers on.

Sometime during the last job, Din had caught a fever. Not surprising, considering the constant abrupt changes in climate you experienced as you visited different planets. It started out as a few sniffles during the hunt itself, a strange sound when it was muffled by the modulator in his helmet. He’d brushed it off, insisting on capturing the bounty first. Of course, with the helmet on, you weren’t able to check his forehead and temperature. Reluctantly, you let him turn the bounty in and get the payment while you went off in search of someone who could sell you the medications you thought you'd need.

As soon as you’d both made it back to the Razor Crest, you made him lie down and remove his helmet so you could check his temperature in the dark. You held the back of your hand to his skin; it was much warmer than you liked, and he was starting to sweat. As expected, he wasn’t well. It kept getting worse over the course of a few days, and you were increasingly worried. Din took many hits on the outside, but was rarely ever actually sick. It took a lot of persistence on your part before he finally admitted his body also ached and that he had a headache bad enough to keep him from falling asleep. You'd given him a heavy dose of painkillers along with something to help calm the fever down. As a result, he'd been drifting in and out of consciousness every few hours. You’d hardly slept over the last few days, much to his vexation. He insisted that you could just let him down a few extra pills and get some rest, but you refused. He would get better much more quickly if you kept him on a consistent schedule of medications, nourishment, along with occasional ice packs for the fever. 

You carried the stack of thin blankets over and set them down next to Din, moving the little one off his lap. As always, the space was kept dark so that you could tend to him without the helmet in the way.

“I’ll be fine,” he protested, lightly touching your wrist as you stood over him. His voice was rough, mostly tired. “Don’t worry about me.” You felt his forehead again, frowning when you realized his fever was still running high.

You sat down next to him on the cot, resting your hand on his. “I always seem to have to remind you that this is my job,” you teased, smiling at him. You leaned forward to grab one of the blankets, shaking it out before draping it over him and gently wrapping it neatly around him.

Din could only see a hint of your features in the dark, but he wished he could see the expression in your eyes. He’d never say it out loud but the tender way you’d been caring for him made his heart swell two sizes, and he didn’t mind the nagging at all. 

Over the next few days, Din continued to be in a daze; it was the only reason he stayed put and let you nurse him back to health. That, and the fact that he really did feel like hell. Not much was said between you, but he could tell how worried you were. You paced a lot, meticulously checking his temperature for changes and adjusting the medications as you thought best. He hated seeing you so stressed, but it was endearing to him, how much you cared. He thanked the Maker for having ever met you. He’d survived many things in his life -- but to have someone like you, he was the luckiest man alive. No one was more capable than you, he knew that much.

He began to feel better after about a week of your constant care. The symptoms slowly but surely subsided, though you had him continue the medications until it was completely resolved. It was late one night, after you’d essentially forced him to eat some soup. He was still drowsy and you were sitting next to him, quietly wiping his skin with a cool cloth. You had picked up the child in your arms, whispering sweet things to him, as Din felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep. 

He was dazed, nearly fast asleep, when he felt you softly kiss his forehead, so lightly he could barely tell you were even there.

He was off in some daydream, he figured. _Kar’taylir darasuum_ , he thought, half-conscious to himself. And then he was out.

~

“Where is the bounty hiding this time?” you asked Din as he punched in some coordinates. 

“Seems off the grid, even for us,” he commented. “It’s called _Terius_.”

Hearing the name, you immediately looked up. “ _Terius_?” you asked.

You were glad he didn’t notice your subtle change in tone. “Heard of it?” 

_You wished you hadn’t_. “No,” you answered simply. “Hopefully this will be an easy job,” you added, and you meant it. 

You knew more about _Terius_ than you wanted to. It’d been years since you’d been there. But, at any rate, this job was supposed to be a quick one. In and out, and hopefully no trouble. Your anxiety went up a notch, but you refused to let it get in the way of the mission.

~

You bit your lip upon seeing that your medical kit needed refilling, sighing as you closed the cabinet. _Terius_ would have plenty of what you needed, but you would have to interact with the locals, which was the last thing you wanted to do.

“I’m going to restock some of my supplies,” you told Din as you picked up the little one. “Is there anything you need?”

“No,” he answered. “Just be careful,” he added, glancing over to make sure your blaster was in its holster. 

You trudged off with the child, realizing you still remembered most of the roads pretty clearly as you made your way into town without trouble. It hadn’t changed much over the years; the same shops in the same places, the same crowded cantina.

The medicinal shop was almost exactly the same as well, but manned by a girl much younger than you - a healer-in-training, most likely. You greeted her politely, not drawing attention as you looked around. While you were here, you could at least pick up a few of the rarer things you hadn’t been able to find elsewhere. There were few places you’d been that had the extensive resources you had here. You paid, hauling the now-heavy bag over your shoulder as you headed back out onto the gravel path, squinting from how bright it had gotten. This place felt different to you, now. But it was you that had changed. 

You tried to stay inconspicuous walking back. This was always difficult when you held a certain little green baby in your arms. But you kept your head down and walked close to the duracrete walls, not making eye contact with any of the locals.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” a voice called to you, their tone laced with a hint of venom. 

A branch under your boots snapped as you froze. Reluctantly, you looked up, turning to face the woman. She was older now, and you would’ve barely recognized her if it weren’t for the way she was looking at you. The years hadn’t made the expression in her dark eyes any kinder.

You found it difficult to hold eye contact. “Lira,” you greeted her. 

She huffed. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing your face here again,” she sneered. Her voice remained calm, but you could hear the distaste in it. She leaned against the door frame of the shop, arms crossed. She was frowning.

You suddenly felt insecure and fidgeted with your fingers. 

“I -- I don’t know what I can say to you. But I won’t be here long,” you promised, trying to cut the conversation short. “I’m sorry,” you quivered, hoping she would accept the double meaning. Your pulse picked up, and you could feel the shame slowing washing over you like it had years ago.

“What are you sorry for?” she chuckled without humor. “For being incapable? Ignorant? Or for being the reason my sister is dead?”

There it was. She wasn’t going to beat around the bush. The guilt you carried all these years, the one that’s been the core of your nightmares. She wasn’t wrong, you thought to yourself. You didn’t know if anyone else remembered you, but it was likely Lira would remind them. Her sister died under your care, when you were meant to save her. Din knew of this, but he’d never consider you at fault for such a thing. For the sake of your work, suppressing the memories was something you’d learned to do as best as you could. But hearing them spit back into your face made that difficult.

“I…” Tears started to form in your eyes as you tried to form a coherent sentence. “I was young, Lira.” 

“All the more reason it shouldn’t have been you doing the operation that day,” she quipped.

“We -- there was no one else. No one else was available that day,” you insisted. “I did everything I could. Please, you have to believe that.” 

Shortly after that day, your boss, Ava, had assured you that she wouldn’t have survived no matter what. But you never knew whether you could fully believe that. Someone who was better, _smarter_ than you might have been able to come up with a different solution.

You took a deep breath before speaking again. “I’m not going to ask for your forgiveness, because I don’t deserve it,” you said. Your voice was shaking now but you held back the tears, not daring to step closer to her. “But you have to know that I did my best.”

Lira shook her head. “I don’t have to listen to anything you have to say. You shouldn’t have come back. You’re not welcome here. Never forget that.” At that, she turned and went back into the shop. 

It took everything in you to not fall to your knees at that moment. You looked down at the child, who cooed at you curiously as you wiped your tears and walked hurriedly to get back to Din.

Your mind was still heavy when you got back onto the Crest. 

“Did the town have what you needed?” he asked, not looking up from his weapons storage.

“I refilled a few of the meds,” you replied. “Were you able to locate the bounty?”

“They’re here somewhere, but it might take a few days to do the job,” he answered. “I scoped the area. It looks like a safe place to stay for a while. Did you want to work with the locals while we’re here? If they need the help?”

You loved being able to help provide medical assistance wherever you visited. Sure, you got paid, but it was what you enjoyed doing anyways. But you couldn’t now, not here. 

“Uh, no. I’d like to stay and help you this time, if that’s okay. It...didn’t look like anyone needed anything when I was there,” you explained. It was the truth, and even if they _did_ need any help, they’d sooner throw you to the beasts than accept your help.

Din nodded, never minding the extra help.

You just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

~

Over the next couple of days, you were continually haunted by your confrontation with Lira. Nothing she’d said was a new thought to you; but you hadn’t heard them spoken aloud since the day it happened. It took you to a dark place, one that you kept falling deeper into the more you remained silent. You wanted it to stop; you tried, but you couldn’t get it out of your head. You did your best to distract yourself, helping Din track down this bounty and mindlessly fix up small things on the Crest. But you hadn’t spoken more than a few words to him, and he noticed.

“Are you alright?” he asked you as you were bent over your med kit, rearranging the supplies for the third time.

Closing it, you stood up and walked to him, pushing the loose hairs out of your face. “Yes, fine. Why?” You felt guilty keeping this from him, but he would worry far too much about you, and you didn’t want that.

Din gently placed his fingers against your cheek, and for a moment, a feeling of peace washed over you. You took his hand in yours, gripping it softly. 

“I’m okay. Let’s just get this bounty,” you said, hoping to reassure him. He kept his gaze on you long enough for you to know he didn’t quite believe you, but he didn’t question you further.

It wasn’t until later that night that Din realized there was definitely something wrong. 

It was after dark. The child was fast asleep, and Din was fine-tuning some things in the cockpit while you were sitting on your cot, unable to sleep. You were leaning against the cold, hard metal of the wall next to you, not paying attention to anything in particular. It was a bit cold, but you were too lazy to pull the blanket up around you. Your mind wandered off to thoughts of Lira and her sister, her family and friends. The looks on their faces years ago were still clear as day in your memory. If anyone else had been there, she might have had a chance. She shouldn’t have died. How many people had you actually _helped_ during your time as a healer? How many people did you believe you helped, but actually left worse off without ever knowing?

You were completely lost in your train of thought, staring off at nothing in particular. You were so far away that you didn’t hear Din coming back down after finishing up, walking up behind you and gently putting his hand on your back when he realized you were still awake.

This startled you and you gasped, flinching out of his reach before you could process what was happening. You instantly regretted it as you saw him pull away, confused.

Din knelt down on the floor in front of you, afraid to touch you again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to -- “ he said, in such a soft tone that you knew you were worrying him.

“No,” you interrupted him. “I’m sorry. I was just in a daze, is all.” You reached out to touch his arm, hoping to show you were fine. “Come on, let’s just get some rest.”

He silently observed you for a few long moments before finally removing his helmet and setting it aside, carefully tucking himself in next to you after you laid down.

You moved closer to him, resting your head against his chest and putting your arm over his waist. You listened to the soft sounds of his breathing for a few minutes before he spoke up.

“Have I done something wrong?” he whispered. The way he said it was so innocent and concerned that you felt your eyes begin to water again. _Hell_ , you thought. You’d hurt him, and you’d do anything to take it back. 

“You’ve done nothing wrong. I promise,” you answered, looking up at him and cupping his cheek with your hand. He responded by running his hand along your back, lightly brushing over your waist. You traced your thumb over the crinkles over his brow, trying to reassure him. “It’s just...one of those days, you know?”

Of course Din was familiar with those types of days. Being alone for so many years left one with a lot of time to think. But he was often haunted by the things he’d done, and it worried him to wonder what it was that lingered in your thoughts so suddenly. If it was something he could change, he’d do it in a heartbeat. He was worried that it was something he’d done, even if you denied it. Perhaps it was something he said, or didn’t say. He knew he wasn’t great at communication, but felt as though he’d gotten better at it ever since he’d known you. If he'd ever disappointed you, he wanted to fix it immediately. But your thoughts seemed to be occupied by something else. 

“What can I do?” he asked softly, and you heard the desperation in his tone. He wanted to help you, but he had no idea how.

“I’ll be fine, Din” you said as reassuringly as you could, resting your hand over his chest and nuzzling into the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arm over you again, pulling you even closer into him.

Concentrating on the rises and falls of his chest, you were able to push away the ugly thoughts long enough to fall into a light sleep.

Din knew there was more to it, but refused to press you on the subject if you didn’t want to talk about it. But he’d noticed the dark circles that formed under your eyes the last couple of days, and he would’ve given anything to fix anything that was troubling you.

~

The next morning, Din was up well before you were, as usual. You’d woken to the sounds of him gearing up, as he’d tracked the bounty down and was ready to go finish the job. You eagerly went along with him, ready for this mission to be done so you could leave.

The beeping of the tracking fob was the only sound filling the foggy morning air as you walked back towards the main town. It was leading you towards the small cantina. You knew the layout well. The cantina was a hotspot in town, but it was tucked in a more obscure area. Not many people would see you back here, much to your relief.

Following the usual routine, you patted your holster to check again for your blaster, waiting on guard outside as he went in. The little one wiggled in the bag around your waist, gurgling happily and obliviously as you petted his ear.

You walked a bit around the corner to check for others nearby, breathing a sigh of relief when you saw no one. The feeling didn’t last long, though, because the sound of a few heavy footsteps came from behind you. You turned to see two men slowly approaching you, hands in their pockets with an unsettling composure. 

You started to move back towards the cantina, but they kept moving towards you. 

“What do you want?” you asked them as firmly as you could manage. 

Lira appeared behind them, along with another girl you recognized. “You don’t recognize them? My sister had a lot of friends, you know. I thought they might like to see you again.”

You glared at her, then at the men. “I told you I’m not staying here,” you said, angrily now. “I don’t want any trouble.”

Of course, you knew they wouldn’t be bothered. They kept cornering you until you backed into something hard, and immediately reached for your blaster before seeing that it was Din. Hearing the ruckus, he’d come back outside. He put his hands on your arms to steady you.

“What’s going on here?” he asked them, his voice ice cold. 

The other girl looked at you. “You don’t plan on staying, but you brought a Mandalorian for protection?” she scoffed. “You were a coward back then, and you’re still a coward now.”

It was hard to miss Din’s slight head tilt towards you, wondering how they knew your name.

“I wouldn’t trust her to take care of that little one if I were you,” she said to Din, pointing to your bag. You felt him go still beside you. He was angry now, you could tell. Of all things, _nobody_ was allowed to bring the child into this.

One of the men playfully reached forward, pretending to grab the child from your bag. This was the last straw, and you and Din both immediately ripped your blasters from their holsters, aiming at them.

“I wouldn’t do that,” you hissed, and at the same time both men drew their own weapons and pointed them at you.

“Watch yourselves,” Din warned in a tone that frightened even you.

“I can’t change the past, Lira,” you said, calmly. 

She cocked her head to the side and chuckled. “But we _can_ choose the future,” is all she replied.

You looked at her, confused, long enough for one of the men to grab you by the collar of your shirt, shoving his blaster up against your jaw. Din responded by swiftly disarming both of them, then holding his blaster up to the man’s head, daring him to try anything else.

Din’s rage was now practically radiating off of him, and the man’s expression changed to fear for the first time.

“Enough!” another voice spoke out. No one moved, but all eyes turned towards it. You were breathing heavily, but felt the slightest bit of relief when you realized who it was.

“ _Ava_ ,” you whispered. The woman who trained you. Probably the one person left on this planet who had any faith in you.

Din heard the softness in your tone and lowered his weapon. Not that they ever had a chance. This wasn’t the most sensible group, but surely they knew better than to try to make battle with a Mandalorian.

Ava casually walked over to you, putting a hand on your shoulder and giving you the smallest hint of a smile. Then she turned to the others.

“I’m going to tell you what I told her, years ago,” Ava said. “Your friend had an _incurable_ condition. An infection, of sorts. We kept her alive for as long as we could, but there was nothing else any of us could have done.”

They were all quiet, still glaring at you. 

“Leave her be. It’s time to let this go,” she continued. “May you never have to make any difficult decisions in your life,” she added.

You knew they would never forgive you. That was something you’d accepted long ago. You would never ask them to. But after a few glances between you and Ava, they turned and walked away, and you let out a deep exhale. You hadn’t realized your hands were shaking.

Ava looked up at Din, then back at you. “It’s been a long time,” she said, smiling at you.

You willed the tears not to fall, moving forward and pulling her in for a tight embrace. She softly said a few kind words into your ear. You let go, and she looked into your defeated eyes, giving you one last encouraging smile before you turned on your heels to walk back towards the Crest.

Din started to follow behind, but Ava gently gripped his arm, holding him back for a second. 

“I don’t know how much you know. But you should know it was never her fault,” she said, a serious expression on her face. “Guilt is a common feeling in our profession, and she may never believe me, but it’s true. She’s skilled at what she does, has been for a long time.” 

_As if he wasn't already absolutely certain of this_. Din gave her a single nod, then went to catch up with you.

~

You walked fast, making it back to the ship first. You stood in the middle of your quarters, trying to stop trembling as you held onto the little one as though your life depended on it.

As soon as the hatch closed, the Crest was thrown into darkness, save for a few blinking lights. You didn’t mind. You heard Din approach from behind, but couldn’t get yourself to move. He stopped to remove his helmet, the metal clinking as he set it down. 

His footsteps were soft; then you felt him gently wrap his arms around you from behind. You were holding it together fairly well until he leaned down and softly pressed a kiss to the top of your head. The tears started to come as you forced yourself to turn around to face him. Din quietly took the child out of your grasp, gently prying your fingers away and setting him down on the ground.

He said nothing as he took you in his arms once again, letting you breathe and calm down as you both stood there. You pressed your cheek against the cold Beskar on his chest, wrapping your arms around his waist.

You don’t know how much time had passed before you finally said something.

“I’ve been here before,” you murmured. _An obvious understatement_ , you thought to yourself.

“Yes,” he replied just as softly, moving his hand up and down your back as you moved back an inch to look up at him. You couldn't see much of him, but you had no doubt he held a tender look in his eyes.

“This was my home, once. This is where I learned my skills,” you elaborated.

“This is where…” he added, though he’d figured it out a while ago.

“Yes,” you admitted quietly.

“ _Kriff_ , why didn’t you say anything?” he answered.

“I thought it would just be like any other quick job,” you said. “I was hoping to remain unseen.”

"I wouldn't have _taken_ this job if I knew. _Especially_ not if it would put you in danger," he said, more forcefully, although he pulled you closer. “You and the child safe - that’s all I want. No bounty is worth more than that.”

"I didn't expect it to be dangerous," you replied. "I knew all of them, they -- "

"They could've _killed_ you," Din interjected, raising his voice. He had you in a tighter embrace now. "I don't care who they were."

"Din, you don't understand. They have a right to hate me. I broke her family, her friends, I -- " you stopped, covering your mouth to hold back the sob.

The sound of this made his anger at them recede instantly, for now. Without hesitation, Din lightly ran his fingers through your hair and along your cheek, gently wiping away at your tears. A silent plea for you to forgive yourself.

"I'm not supposed to break things. I'm supposed to fix them," you said quietly. "If I can't do that, then what am I?" 

Din's heart ached for you, but he didn't have a clue how he could fix this, or help you. He could easily brush off a few amateurs pointing their weapons, but when it came to problems of the soul, he had trouble with it himself. If it would've helped to disintegrate those _di’kuts_ right then and there, he would've done it. No questions asked.

He pondered quietly. "I don't... know anything about healing," he said, leaning down and whispering into your hair. "But Ava does. If you trust her judgment, you should believe what she said."

“Take it from someone who's willingly done bad things in the past,” he added a moment later. “You did everything you could to help someone. That's... more than a lot of us can say."

~

Din had flown the Razor Crest off into the galaxy shortly after that. With the ship in hyperspace, gone was _Terius_ and along with it, a small piece of your emotional baggage. The bounty was all-but-forgotten -- which was lucky for them, anyway. 

You were all settled in for some rest. The little one was in his pod, and you and Din were tucked in under the many blankets you now owned. You were curled up with your back against his chest, his arm draped over your torso. You were closer to him, your whole body pressed against his. He didn't ask any questions, just held you quietly, listening to the sounds of your breathing. 

You had your arm over his, tracing small patterns across his skin with your fingers. It always surprised you how unexpectedly soft his skin was. You frowned as your fingers moved over some old scars. Your fingers intertwined with his, and you brought his hand up to your lips, placing a single kiss along one of the scars. Maybe all of this would give your subconscious a rest. You weren't sure. But after all these years, it slowly became clear that you had used your sorrow to strive to do better. 

Not only that, but maybe, just maybe, you’d wanted to prove something to yourself the day you’d met Din - that you were capable. You’d punished yourself for so long without realizing it. You thought about Din’s words earlier. Maybe it was time to look to the present, and future, with one Mandalorian and a tiny green baby.

Din rarely, if ever, fell asleep before you. As always, he didn't sleep much anyways. Besides that, he preferred to wait for you to sleep first, listening to your occasional snores and just savoring the feeling of having you in his arms. Sometimes, while you were asleep, you would unconsciously nestle more into his chest, or softly reach up and brush your fingers along his face. It was things like this that made him fully realize how much you'd softened him in the time he'd known you; just another reason he didn't mind his difficulties sleeping. He would be at your side for as long as you needed to find peace again.

Din had meant it earlier when he said he knew little about healing. You had nursed him back to health, out of that miserable fit of sickness, with little trouble at all. Yes, he was clueless about even the basics of first aid. But he didn’t believe a single word those dirtbags had said. He softened, his eyes crinkling as he thought of how many times you’d saved his behind. 

A tiny snore from you broke his train of thought, and he smiled, his chest warm. He placed a painfully soft kiss to your shoulder, not wanting to wake you.

 _Sleep well, cyar’ika_ , he murmured, closing his own eyes. His fingers were still in yours when he felt you just barely squeeze his hand. An acknowledgment. The last thing he heard was you, half in a daze, mumbling those words he’d repeated many times in his head. Then again, maybe he was just hearing things.

  
  



	11. Eleven

_After the events of the last hunt, as well as these missions taking a toll on his physical state, you and Din had both agreed it would be for the best to find somewhere to settle and lay low for a while. It had taken a bit more convincing on your part for him to admit the latter._

_“Din, you can’t keep pushing yourself past your limits like this,” you told him. “I won’t have you breaking down on me.”_

_“I’m fine now,” he insisted, as he always did._

_“Well, then, for me,” you commented. “I wouldn’t mind a breather, either, after...all of that.”_

_He would just as well disregard his own health every time, but when it came to yours or the child’s, he’d never risk it. “Alright, I can try to find some secluded place we can go,” Din had accepted._

_The ship was quiet, save for the sounds of Din clicking in some coordinates on the control panel. You heard a coo coming from behind, and turned to find the little one wobbling towards you, wanting to be picked up. You happily obliged, and were rewarded with a small gurgle._

_“What do you say, little one? We can actually stretch our legs this time,” you said to him._

_It took some searching, but Din eventually found a suitable, small planet with a scattered and low population density._ Elldur _, it was called. It wouldn’t be reasonable to relocate somewhere that was completely deserted, should you need anything, so this would be a good middle ground. Din had mumbled something about it being a good skughole to hideout in, and you were pleased that he would finally get some rest._

~

Weeks had passed, and Din was right about _Elldur_ being quite the swampy skughole. It was perfect for all of you; the climate was calm and warm, which allowed Din to recover from the constant weather changes you’d been through for different hunts. There was easy access to the small town nearby, and you were able to stay on the Crest, somewhat hidden away by one of the marshes that were plentiful here. This was good for the little one, too, always providing an abundance of small creatures for snacks; he never listened when you or Din told him to leave them alone.

You’d all gone into town many times but kept your heads low. The town, despite its small population, consisted of many larger buildings and shops. They were more limited in technology, but Din was able to find things for small fixes to the Crest. You interacted with others as little as possible, but they never paid you much attention anyways.

Without his thoughts being preoccupied by a hunt, every night you and Din would spend some time huddled by a small fire just outside the ship, the little one usually fast asleep next to you. Sometimes you would read some random new text you’d found in town; other times you simply sat together in silence, enjoying the small fragment of peace that came with so little effort.

For the first time in a long time, you had no worries. No dreadful thoughts about whether or not the bounty was dangerous, where you had to go next, or most importantly, whether Din was in harm’s way. You’d seen too much pain and suffering during the time you’d been a healer; this was expected. The look of fear in someone's eyes when they were hurt was something you knew too well. It was a look you never wanted to have to see on Din; you wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Being in his arms like you were now, you realized you hadn’t felt so at peace in a long time—certainly not in the time before you met him. You felt safe. You knew _he_ was safe, if only just for a while, and that was more than you could ask for. 

Din noticed you were quietly lost in thought, and gently pulled you in closer to him. You looked up and teased him with that soft smile of yours, and he felt his chest swell two sizes. He lightly brushed his fingers through your hair, silently memorizing yet another small moment for safekeeping. Each night you would eventually all go back on the Crest to sleep, and in these last few weeks Din had fallen asleep faster than he ever did in the years before knowing you. 

The nights on _Elldur_ were pretty warm, but neither of you ever minded the extra heat. Blankets weren’t needed with Din’s body right against yours, his arm wrapped around you as snugly as you allowed. _If only it could always be like this_ , you thought to yourself. You didn’t have to say it out loud. Neither of you did.

~

The next day you all headed into town again. The little one could use a proper meal, and he enjoyed being around others anyways. The three of you knew the town layout well now and could get to where you needed with ease. 

The tall buildings shielded your eyes from the sun as you glanced around. Something about today felt peculiar. Of all the times you'd been here, it had never been this...quiet. The shops and stalls were all open, but hardly anyone was around. You looked at Din and could tell he was thinking the same thing. You held the child in your bag a little tighter and moved closer to Din. Both of you picked up your paces a bit; you were almost there. 

Out of nowhere, Din roughly pushed you behind him with his arm and at the same time a blaster shot hit him in the chest plate. It bounced off after a loud impact, the force of it slamming both of you back against a wall.

You barely had time to reach for your holster before Din had his own blaster out, shooting it in the same direction the shot came from. 

“What the—” you started to yell, when suddenly the shots started coming all at once. You couldn’t make out where they were coming from, or _who_ was shooting them - Din’s body was completely in front of yours and you couldn’t see around him. You whipped your head around, trying to find an escape. There was a small indoor corridor, inside the large building of shops you’d been to several times. You put your hand on his shoulder.

“Din, back that way!” you shouted over the sounds of blaster fire. He glanced over his shoulder, then nodded once before carefully pushing you in that direction. You hugged the child close to your chest, trying not to trip as you both ran like hell for cover.

The shots continued ringing out until you managed to get back behind the corridor. They stopped firing, but it didn’t matter. They had you cornered. You were on the ground, and moved to peek past the wall and scan your surroundings. You expected to find some other bounty hunters, maybe a few of them. But you momentarily stopped breathing when you saw the ex-Imperial emblems.

They were standing in a line, spaced out surrounding the open building. You counted maybe ten of them. Their eerily spotless and shiny black armor could only mean one thing. “Death troopers,” Din muttered. 

“But... that means they were sent by—”

Before you could finish, one of the troopers stepped forward. “We have a message from Moff Gideon,” the deep voice bellowed. “There is nowhere to hide.” 

"Wait," you whispered. "I thought he was—” 

The way he went still told you Din thought he was dead, too. 

“He’s _here_? How did he find us?” You’d never seen Moff Gideon in person, but you knew the stories, of course. Enough to know that this was very, very bad.

Din shook his head. “It’s just a few death troopers—he’s not here. He wouldn’t have come with so few of them. But we’re still outnumbered,” he explained hurriedly. You heard him swear under his breath. “Someone here must’ve ratted us out,” he grumbled. “Probably for a steep cut.”

You swallowed hard, thinking this through. There was approximately a zero percent chance they were here to negotiate, considering they’d obliterated everything within a 100 foot radius from you. They wanted their asset. They weren’t successful last time, and they were going to do their best to prevent the child from escaping a second time. The last time, Din had been severely injured, but he hadn’t been alone. He’d had Cara Dune, and a droid—both of whom were much more useful in battle than you.

As if he’d heard your thoughts, Din put his hand over yours, willing you to turn and look at him. “It’s going to be alright,” he whispered. “I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”

“That’s not what I’m afraid of—” 

"Din Djarin," a deep voice spoke. Both of you turned and saw the pre-recorded hologram on display, bringing you virtually face to face with Gideon himself. You looked up at Din, wide-eyed. You didn't know Gideon knew his name. 

"Surprised to see me? Well, that's what happens when you don't finish a job correctly. That's what happened the last time we met. I’m afraid we didn’t leave off on an... _even_ score—”

A shot from Din’s blaster knocked the device to the ground, shutting off Gideon’s voice.

Din had stopped listening a while ago. He knew there would be no bargaining. “On my cue, you take the kid and run through that spot over there, alright?” He took the blaster out of your holster and pressed it into your hand. “Straight to the Crest. You know where the weapons are. Start the engine if you can.” 

“Din, I’m _not_ —”

“On my cue,” he repeated, ignoring the tormented look in your eyes. 

“It’s going to be alright,” he said a second time as you looked at him with disbelief. Unexpectedly, he leaned down and softly pressed his helmet to your forehead, then nuzzled the child’s ear. “I’ll see you on the ship. I have a plan,” he said in hopes of reassuring you. 

Din did _not_ have a plan. You nodded reluctantly as he looked past the wall another time. The troopers remained where they were, their weapons raised. He reached for the one small grenade he kept in his belt. It would have to make do. He glanced at you one more time, then activated the grenade, throwing it out into the open where the troopers stood. They started shouting before the shots started coming again and Din ran towards them.

You heard the loud explosion of the canister seconds later, looking for Din. He was dodging the relentless fire as it clanged off his armor. A few more seconds passed before he looked at you.

“Now!” he yelled. 

You hesitated, not wanting to leave him but knowing you’d only make things worse if you tried to help. You forced the tears back and turned to run back the way you came. Dashing towards the small exit, you gripped the child tightly. In your other hand, you had your blaster ready to fire. 

You had just made it a few meters down the dark corridor and were almost outside when an explosion went off, shaking the ground just enough for you to stumble. A figure appeared at the exit, sending you running back in the other direction. You shot back at them as you ran; instead, the trooper shot at the walls and roof, barricading you in. You fell to the ground, back where you started. Stuck. 

Still holding the child, you got off the ground, running out to where Din was and taking cover behind one of the stalls.

“Din!” you screamed when you didn’t see him. He appeared from the other side, meters away, still shooting and dodging their fire. 

It was hard to see past all the smoke. Your eyes watered as you tried to see how many of them were left. There were less than you remembered, and several bodies were on the ground. Din didn’t see the trooper approaching from behind him. You aimed and hit his leg, making the trooper fall to the ground. You screamed Din’s name again. This time he heard you, killing the trooper before turning to face you.

“What are you doing? _Go!_ ” He yelled back. But you had blown your cover by shooting the trooper.

You saw one of them appear through the smoke. The trooper threw three blinking canisters into the middle of the building, directly between you and Din. Everything suddenly happened in slow motion. You watched the remaining death troopers back out towards the main exit, right before the canisters blinked faster and exploded as you ducked behind the stall again, shielding the child.

When the smoke started to clear, you wiped the dirt off your face and attempted to sit up. The lights overhead flickered slowly but at a nauseating level, changing your surroundings back and forth from dim to lit. You were able to pull yourself up, but your leg was stuck under a pile of rubble. The child was still safe in your bag, which was hanging from your arm. You forced your body up higher to look over to where Din was. He was on his back, and he looked hurt but he was moving. You yelled his name, but he didn’t answer. Upon squinting, you were able to make out the sight of some blood in the torn fabric over his arm and waist. You yelled out again, louder, still getting no response. You felt the blood drain out of your face, the unwelcome memories threatening to flood back in. 

_It had been your idea to settle for a while. How could you be so stupid? Because of you, Din and the child’s lives were put in danger. Once again, it was your fault._

_No,_ you told yourself. _It won’t happen again._

You let out a loud groan as you pulled your legs towards you as hard as you could, eventually getting the big pieces of debris off and freeing yourself. You readjusted your bag and gave the child a once-over—a bit of blood, some scrapes, no big deal. Then you ran towards Din, falling to the ground next to him.

“Din,” you whispered, frantically, your hands moving over his body for a quick inspection. “Can you hear me? You’re bleeding, do you feel any pain?”

You exhaled in relief when he responded by reaching for your hand. You gripped it tightly. 

“I’m fine,” he answered softly, to which you rolled your eyes. He started to sit up, but you lightly held his shoulders down.

“I think your head was hit on the way down,” you said, more hurriedly. “I’m going to keep my eyes closed but I need to take your helmet off and feel for any trauma, okay?”

He groaned but reluctantly muttered a _yes_ , so you shut your eyes and slowly pulled up on the cold Beskar. Supporting his head as you laid the helmet down to the side, you delicately probed the areas behind his head, neck and finally his face. He flinched beneath your fingers when you brushed over a damaged area of his skin, coming in contact with a bit of wetness. 

You audibly sighed in relief for the second time. “It’s just a laceration,” you told him. “It probably looks worse than it is.”

“I told you,” he remarked, slightly teasing. Despite yourself, you smiled, relieved he was mostly okay. You reached for his helmet and helped him carefully position it back onto his head. You suddenly felt Din’s gloved hand cupping your cheek, his thumb softly tracing across your skin. The unexpected and tender gesture made warmth rush into your face, almost making you forget his current state.

Opening your eyes again, you quickly looked over his body, scanning again for other signs of trauma. The resilience of the armor never failed to surprise you, though he had several moderately deep wounds on his arms, some of them seeping a bit of blood. They might need some sutures later, but that could wait. You wiped at your hands, seeing that the blood on your fingers had left imprints on the shiny surface of his helmet.

“Do you think it’s safe now?” you asked him as fear kicked back in and you looked around.

“I’m going to check,” he replied and started to sit up. You supported his back and helped pull him up, satisfied when you saw he could stand on his own. He pressed at his sensor, walking and scanning the area. 

The child’s mischievous cooing turned your gaze to him. You’d put the bag down to check on Din, and the kid was now wobbling away towards the piles of debris on the other side of the stands. 

“Come on now, we can’t mess around,” you said, pacing over to pick him up. 

Din ignored the stings on his body every time he took a step, scanning past the bodies on the ground and the residual smoke. He wanted to feel consoled that all three of you were unharmed, but something felt _off_. Driving them away had been too easy, almost. 

Why had they just retreated? They’d had all of you cornered; it wouldn’t have taken much more effort to capture the kid. 

His sensor suddenly registered a sound, picking up on something ticking nearby. He tried to locate it, checking up and down in every direction, turning until he found the source. A trail of warheads—forming a concealed line along the surface of the roof above you—the last one directly over where you were now standing.

 _This wasn’t a kidnapping attempt,_ Din realized, his hands going cold. _Gideon didn’t come because they hadn’t planned on taking the kid yet. This was revenge._

“ _Get down!_ ” he yelled.

You squatted down on the ground as fast as you could, hovering over the child—less than a millisecond later, you heard the blasts go off; better yet, you _felt_ them, vibrations increasing as each one exploded one after another. You braced yourself over the child as everything collapsed around you. 

Din was screaming your name now, unable to run to you in time. He watched in horror as the ceiling exploded in a long, perfectly organized trail, collapsing to the ground.

Everything around you went dark as pieces of duracrete fell on your body. You barely got a glimpse of the kid underneath you before feeling the pounding force of something falling on top of your back, knocking the wind out of you as your whole body was shoved to the ground.

~

You forced yourself to open your eyes. You heard the voice calling your name, but it was muffled and low, concealed by a sharp ringing noise in your ears that wouldn’t go away. You slowly blinked once, trying to orient yourself. You were on your side, your head against the rough, solid ground. _Can you move your legs?_ You asked yourself, terrified. It took every ounce of strength you had, but you were able to move your ankles. Something was moving along your lower body. Din’s hands, you realized. He shifted something, and you felt the relief of a physical weight being lifted off you. Then you felt his hand barely brushing against your head. His figure was crouching down beside you—he was calling your name again. The ringing in your ears wouldn't stop. You only saw grey curtains alternating with bright flashes. You blinked again, trying to regain focus. Your breaths had been shallow. _You need to breathe_ , you thought, and started to inhale. But instead of air, the only thing you felt was fire in your chest, burning through you like a pain you’d never felt before. Everything still sounded faded—you could barely hear yourself when you started to scream.

Din had frantically pushed all the duracrete off you. He picked up the child, who was unconscious. For one short second he allowed himself to exhale in relief upon seeing minimal injuries to his little body. But then he looked at you. You had a gash across your forehead. The rest of you appeared unharmed, until you started to cry out. The sound of it made his whole body shake with fear. Panicked, Din didn’t know what to do. He needed to turn you over to check if there was more damage than he could see.

“I need to reposition you,” he said, desperation in his voice. He didn’t know if you could even hear him, but your eyes were open now. “I’m sorry,” he said again before wrapping his arm around your torso as gently as he could.

Taking extreme care, he slowly turned you over, doing his best to support you. He heard the start of another cry, but felt his chest constrict when he realized you were trying to suppress it. 

Din was kneeling beside you, his hands on your shoulders. You were lying on your back now, but had a dazed look in your eyes. He wanted to shake you to keep you awake, but couldn't risk moving you more than necessary. His hands urgently moved to cup your face, gently stroking your cheek with his thumb despite the fear that coursed through him. Your lip was split, the blood starting to dry. With his other hand, Din lightly wiped away at the blood, as if that would take away some of your pain. You were looking at him, but still didn’t seem to be fully present. He pushed your hair out of your face, moving his hand to the back of your head. You were in obvious pain, but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from, making his panic deepen. Aside from your face, he couldn’t see any injuries on you—which only distressed him more.

"What is it?" He asked, pleading with you. "Tell me what I need to do."

 _Kriff, it hurt to breathe_ , you thought to yourself. Despite the situation, you couldn’t help but worry about how distraught he seemed. He was close, barely touching you for fear of hurting you. You mustered the strength to form a sentence as best as you could.

“I think—” you whispered, but it came out like a wheeze when the air caught in your throat. “ribs...are broken,” you managed to say. Every inhale was a brushfire making its way into your lungs. You knew it was worse than just broken bones, but didn’t have the energy to explain.

Din saw the look in your eyes change—you were losing consciousness. He looked around - for what, he didn’t know. There was no one to help; it was deserted. Whether they’d killed everyone or driven them off with fear, he didn’t know. He needed to get you out of here. The smoke alone would make it harder for you to breathe. He whispered your name once, then again, louder.

" _Look at me!_ " He yelled at you, desperately. 

Your vision went in and out with each ragged breath, blurs and shadows that were closing in. You could barely make out the shape of him now. You’d been around patients like this before, plenty of times; you knew you needed to stay awake. _But everything hurt so much_. He was saying something else, but you couldn't hear him as the sounds around you started to fade into nothing and the world went black around you.

His adrenaline was back on high now, and Din knew he had to get you back to the Crest as soon as possible. The child laid still nearby, also wounded but not extensively—thanks to you. He picked the kid up, putting him into the bag you always carried and slinging it over his shoulder before kneeling back down next to you. You were still breathing, somewhat, providing Din with the slightest feeling of relief. He didn’t know how safe it was to move you, but he had no choice. He scooped one arm under your waist—as gently as he’d thought possible—and the other arm under your legs, picking you up in one swift motion. Your head was leaning against his shoulder, and he made sure you were secure before moving as quickly as he could back towards the ship.

~

Upon reaching the Crest, it took exactly one look for Din to realize there was no chance the engine would start. The area was deserted, but Gideon’s death squad would’ve known better than to leave an easy escape. After opening the hatch and climbing aboard, it was evident the ship had been raided, although it was still intact. It wouldn’t have taken a genius for them to figure out how to damage the systems completely. Din snapped out of it, not worrying about that now as he made his way over to your sleeping quarters.

He carefully lowered you onto the mat on the ground, setting your legs down first. Holding you upright with one arm, he used his other trembling hand to grab a cushion that was nearby. Before he laid you down, Din looked at you again under the dim lighting of the ship. Your eyes were closed, and were there no injuries to your face, you would’ve looked so completely...serene. He wrapped an arm tighter around you and gently pulled you into his chest, his free hand reaching up against the back of your head for support. Tears were starting to form and he closed his eyes, holding you tightly as he took a deep breath. Carefully supporting your head, he laid you back and elevated your legs like you’d once taught him to. 

Standing up, he hesitated about leaving your side before reluctantly running back to the cockpit. 

“ _Kriff!_ ” Din slammed his hand on the wall of the cabin. As predicted, the Imps had tampered with the Crest while they had you cornered and occupied. The engine wouldn’t start and his comlink was damaged. He swore under his breath, feeling his pulse pick up as he went back to you. His thoughts went back and forth on the options. There would be no one anywhere near here now.

He had no idea what to do—you were the only person who would know.

~

The cold metal wall was uncomfortable as Din leaned back against it, sitting on the floor beside you. He couldn't risk leaving you alone, and his only hope now was that you'd come to again and give him some direction. He was never one to fidget, but the present situation left him with a deep feeling of unease at the core of his chest. He looked back and forth from you to the kid, who was asleep in his pod; weak, but recovering. He could heal himself. Din swore at himself silently. _Why hadn't he chosen a planet with a medcenter_? 

His jaw clenched. _None of you were safe, anywhere_ . The guilt he felt was unrelenting. In the weeks you’d all been on this planet, he’d allowed himself to feel safe. _Secure._ It was all a charade and he’d been a fool. The feeling of dread tormented him. In his whole life, he only had the child, and then you. Yes, the Mandalorians raised him, but who was actually able to change his heart?

If _anything_ happened to you, if you....

He shook the thought away, refused the possibility. The ship was so damn _quiet_ and it was...too much. Din had grown used to the sound of your voice, whispering soft things to him and the child and washing away the things that lingered in his mind. Now it was dead silent, and it was too much for him to bear.

Abruptly, the ragged sound of your breath broke through the silence. Din was instantly at your side, his hand cupping your face. 

“ _Hey,_ ” he whispered in a hushed tone, as though anything louder would break you. The relief in his voice was apparent.“You’re okay. We’re safe.”

You weakly lifted your hand and put it over his. You almost smiled. He didn’t know. How would he? “Din,” you murmured after a moment. 

“I’m here. _Please_ ,” he stammered. “Tell me what I need to do. Tell me what’s wrong with you.” 

It wasn’t any easier to breathe, but you managed to take slightly deeper breaths. “There’s nothing…” you started. “The fracture—it can puncture my lungs…” You didn’t want to make him more worried than he already was, but there wasn’t any way around it. If your ribs punctured your lungs, they would collapse, maybe completely. And without medical intervention…

“How bad is it?” he asked, somehow in an even lower tone. When you didn’t answer, he felt his heart rate pick up again. His hand trembled as he lightly ran his fingers along your cheek.

"You're fine," he said, his voice faltering. "Show me where the painkillers are. The kid, maybe he can—"

“No,” you weakly lifted a hand to stop him. “Painkillers won’t help. And to heal me, he'd have to give up a lot of his own energy. I can’t let him do that,” you whispered, barely audible.

You couldn’t see the tormented expression in Din’s eyes. He knew you were right; to fix this much damage would take too much.

“How is he—” you started to say, but were cut off by the sudden choking sensation that overcame you. You’d inhaled too hard and were unable to stop coughing, more violently with each attempted breath. Your hands balled up into fists as you tried to contain it—you couldn’t see Din’s expression, but you knew you were scaring him. He’d immediately had his hands on your shoulders, trying to steady you.

The fire you felt before was back, but you couldn’t control the rough coughing nor could you catch a _breath_. Each movement felt like a knife piercing through your throat and into your chest—and then you felt something warm spill out of your mouth. Blood. You looked down in horror as you touched your lips and pulled away with the warm fluid on your fingers. You looked at Din, who was calling your name again. You wanted to comfort him; the anguish in his voice overwhelmed you. 

Din grabbed the closest piece of cloth he could find, haphazardly wiping away at the blood that was dripping down from your mouth. He kept yelling your name, as if it would make any difference. 

“ _Please_ ,” he begged. _No._

Eventually the rasping stopped. He continued to hold your face in his hands, ignoring the blood that was now all over his sleeves and begging you to stay awake. But you had lost consciousness again, and now his own breathing was ragged. He wanted to cry out; he needed _anyone_ to help.

Din had been on his own for many years, but in all that time, he’d never felt as helpless and alone as he did in this moment.

  
  



	12. Twelve

_A small cottage, surrounded by trees. A stream nearby, its sounds in the background as the child plays. So much green; delicate flowers brightening up your whole home. There’s laughter—yours, or the child’s, or even his own soft chuckles. The type of laughter that’s unrelenting, brings tears to your eyes. It’s quiet, especially in the mornings. The kind of content silence that’s shared between two people who can say everything they need to through the eyes alone. You’re safe. Nothing can harm you; not a single being nor worry. Love. It’s everywhere; there’s so much of it that he could keep some of it wrapped up for later. And peace—a stark contrast to the war he’s always known—peace that’s been long sought-after. Peace that lights his way home. That was all you both ever really wanted, anyways._

_The vision fades away, replaces itself with an image of you, taking your last breath._

_The Mandalorian tries to yell—nothing comes out, and he can’t seem to move._

_All he’d ever wanted was to give you everything you deserved—more than he had to offer, but you would say he was wrong. It’s a vision that was never spoken, and now it might be too late._

_He had never given much thought to how he was likely to grow old alone. It was something he’d accepted long ago. But once he found the child and met you, everything was different._

_It’s been quiet for days. The silence was deafening. In some twisted way, it was almost funny, he contemplated. He’d spent the majority of his life like this—completely alone, with nothing but the quiet noises of the Crest to keep him company. But now, he couldn’t bear the thought of being alone again._

_He’d finally found the one person who made his world gentler. A balm to a scratched-up soul. You had found your way into a permanent spot in his soul; if he lost you, the loneliness would swallow him whole._

_That was the strange thing about loneliness. He'd never realized there was anything missing in his life. Being alone had not been a burden, just an afterthought that received little attention—the same way one forgets the sensation of the clothing on their own skin. It was a feeling that was present for so long, simmering like a small fire, that it was no longer a feeling at all. Once he became aware it was there all along, the thought of going back to that life again was unfathomable._

_He refused to tell himself that he would be alright without you—he knew he wouldn’t be._

Din opened his eyes, looking through the tint of his visor. He shook the vision away. It wasn’t a dream, nor was it a nightmare—he’d have to be asleep to experience either of those. It was a small fragment of a reality he hoped for, and might’ve known. He tried not to be angry with himself for never speaking it aloud.

_~_

The ship was still a wreck. A couple days had passed, but Din couldn’t leave your side to go find repair supplies. He had spent a bit of the time quickly repairing what he could on the Crest, but without certain parts there was no chance of getting it to start up again. The Imps had damaged a lot; there was only so much he could do. He needed to get those parts, but couldn't risk leaving you until you were somewhat stable. Any period of time he left you alone was a chance for things to go completely wrong again, and he refused to allow it. This rendered him helpless, allowing him to succumb to his darkest fears that were accompanied by all the silence. 

He felt his stomach turn every time you so much as winced. _He should’ve been more careful. He’d let himself get too comfortable on this planet; he’d let his guard down and now you were paying the price for it. He should’ve known. Nothing was ever that simple._

Most hours you had been asleep. At some point, Din had moved you from the ground up onto your cot. For you, the pain in your chest had been constant for so long that you almost stopped noticing it was there, like it was just a new normal. Almost.

During the few times you'd been awake, not much was said between you two. Even speaking would hurt too much sometimes, and you could imagine your bones piercing your lungs. Twice, you had coughed up blood again, always bringing him into panic mode as he wiped away at the warm fluid. Din spent much of the time trying to keep you comfortable and begging you for any options you knew of; he had a feeling you knew more than you let on. He'd even taken to reading through your books while you slept, desperate to learn more, though he had no idea what he was looking for.

He was on the floor beside your cot, where he’d stayed most of the time. His armor hadn’t been on over the last day or so; everything was heavy enough without it.

Din looked up and closed the medical manual in his hands when you started to stir beside him. Shifting his position, he reached down and pushed the hair out of your face. Without his gloves on, he was able to feel the softness of your hair under his fingers, the gentle curve of your cheek. Your breaths were so shallow that it hardly looked like you were breathing at all.

He took your hand, intertwining his fingers into yours and tracing small circles onto the back. _Your hands were cold_ , he noticed, frowning in response. Then again, maybe they always were; his gloves and armor had often been a barrier, in more ways than one. He found himself wishing he’d been able to hold them like this more often. 

You flinched, opening your eyes and looking at him.

“Are you alright?” he murmured, still holding your hand.

“Yeah,” you replied, but he heard the break in your voice. He gripped your hand tighter.

“I know what you’re thinking,” you whispered. “Don’t you dare blame yourself.”

“I don’t know how many more times you need to get hurt before I can convince you—” he muttered, shaking his head.

”No,” you interrupted. “I chose this. I chose _you._ ”

"There has to be something we can do," he insisted. "Something to help with the pain, before I can get you to a medcenter."

Ultimately a medcenter was your best bet for the surgery you needed. You had known there were some options—nothing curative, only palliative. But you hesitated to ask Din to do it, considering it would require more than just simple bandaging. There were risks involved, and you weren't so much concerned for yourself as you were for his guilt if something were to go wrong.

Reluctantly, you reconsidered the risks in your head. You had been unconscious often, but you doubted he had gotten much rest himself, and it might put him at ease to let him help.

"There's a minor procedure that might work…but I’m not sure if—" you started. 

“What can I do?” he pleaded. “I can try. You can show me.”

He was kneeling at your side, barely holding onto anything but your hand for fear of hurting you.

“Can you bring me my kit?” you huffed out in between ragged breaths.

Din hurried and brought it over, setting it down next to you and opening it. He started reading labels, looking up at you for instructions.

“Which medication? Gauze?” he asked, a bit frantically.

You shook your head. Without sitting up you weakly pointed at the small black case. He picked it up and opened it, jerking his head up at you again.

“Needles?” he asked, confused.

You reached out and grabbed at the one you wanted, holding it out to him. 

“This won’t...fix everything,” you answered. “But it will help me breathe. It’ll buy some time. So you can go find the tools for the ship.”

“I already said I’m not leaving you alone—” he shook his head, but he knew there weren’t many other options.

“I’ll be fine,” you insisted, a smile playing on your lips. How strange it was for those words to come out of your mouth for once, instead of his. 

Din said nothing, looking down at the pack of syringes again.

“This needs to be injected in between my ribs,” you explained. “It’ll get some of the fluid out.”

Seeing how still he went, you laid your hand on top of his. “You don’t have to do it, Din. It would only be temporary, anyways.”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll do it. But...what if I hurt you? What if I make it _worse_?”

“I’m tough,” you replied, lips curling into a small grin. “It can’t be much worse than this.”

You heard him exhale before he nodded reluctantly, standing to go grab the other supplies you showed him.

He knelt back down, removed his gloves and cleaned his hands. You were fumbling with the buttons on your shirt, trying to undo them but unable to move your body much without hissing in pain.

He quietly watched you continue to try a few more times. You groaned in frustration, resting your hands on your stomach when you couldn’t get it done.

Din hesitated before reaching forward and placing his hands over both of yours.

“I’ll do it,” he said softly, but it came out more like a question. You answered with a nod.

He carefully lifted your hands and moved them away, gently using his own fingers to pry each button open starting from the top. He unbuttoned the first two, not wanting to meet your eyes even though you couldn't see his face. Reaching the third, he had a harder time with it. The button came undone with more force than he intended, his fingers brushing over the skin on your chest. He stopped when he heard you inhale quietly, afraid he’d hurt you.

You looked away— _you were nearly on your deathbed, were you seriously thinking about this right now_? “Sorry. Your fingers are cold,” you mumbled, quietly. He finally met your gaze, holding it for a few moments before nodding and continuing. He was grateful to have the cover of the helmet.

He tried not to pay attention to the sliver of your skin that was now showing—for fear of making you uncomfortable, of course. You tried not to notice the softness of his fingers against your skin; how they were warm to the touch.

He cleared his throat and you held back a tiny smile.

You both remained silent as you showed him how and where to clean the area—approximately three fingers below where your rib cage starts, under the second rib. You tried your best to explain how to maneuver and handle the needle. When you noticed his fingers trembling, you wrapped your hands over them.

“It’s okay,” you reassured him. “It’s better if you don’t think about how I feel. It’s not that bad.”

Din had no idea how you'd done this all those years—you always made it look so easy. When he looked into your eyes now and found the reassuring expression in them, which he knew was solely for his benefit, he held his breath and drove the needle in.

You closed your eyes, hissing as you felt the needle push through muscle. Your jaw was clenched, but you walked him through what to do next, step by step. You were glad he was never a squeamish man, because there was quite a bit of fluid that had to be drawn out. Once all was done and the needle was out, you were able to let go of the tension in your body, laying your head back and exhaling fully for the first time.

He put everything aside and was immediately at your side again, asking if you were hurt or if he’d done anything wrong. You shook your head in response.

“Thank you,” you breathed, fully this time. Din took a cloth and gently wiped at the light sheen of sweat that had gathered on your skin. 

Your breaths were still coarse, but they came more easily and with less pain now. You shouldn’t have been exhausted, but you were. You’d kept strain in your muscles this whole time without realizing it, and finally releasing it was a relief.

Din put the rest of the supplies away and returned to your side, cupping your face with his hand and running the back of his fingers along your cheek. You looked up at him, a faint smile on your lips. 

“Sleep, _cyar'ika_ ,” he murmured softly. “I’m going to go find the parts I need. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

You hummed in response, placing your hand on top of his before closing your eyes. He messily pulled a thin blanket over you—you were out before he even finished.

He left to get his weapons from the cabinet—packing extras, just in case.

When he came back out, he found the kid wobbling towards you. Din picked him up and set him back in the pod, knowing he wouldn’t stay there for long. 

“I’ll be back,” he told the little one before glancing over at you. “You stay with her. Keep her safe,” he said softly, earning a coo in response. Din heard the plea in his own voice. _If only you could help her,_ he thought to himself.

He took another look at you before unclipping his rifle and setting it down for a moment. He knelt down next to you once again.

The blanket was pulled up all the way to your neck, and the wrinkles in your brow that had been there before were now gone.

The words came out before he even heard them in his head. 

“I love you,” he whispered. He could hear the tremor in his voice even through the modulator. 

You were out cold and he could barely hear the words himself, but the words carried the message all the same. He hadn't spoken those words out loud to you before, hadn't spoken them to another living being for most of his life. He wished he had told you sooner.

How long had he known? He wasn’t sure, but it was certainly long before Cara brought it to his attention. It crept up on him slowly, and then never left—it had been there all along; it was no longer a feeling at all, but a way of life.

He slowly removed his helmet. It was something he’d done around you plenty of times now, but it felt different this time. It _was_ different. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to your forehead. 

He stood back up and put his helmet back on, looking at you and the kid one more time before grabbing the rifle, opening the hatch, and walking off the ship.

~

You opened your eyes to darkness and the sound of gurgling and coos. You looked to your side and let out a soft chuckle when you saw the outline of the little one’s ears. Other than the child’s coos, it was silent. Din hadn’t returned yet.

“What do you think you’re doing?” you teased. Your voice cracked and you still felt a sharp sting as you inhaled. Flinching as you reached over, you turned on the lamp to illuminate the space. 

Seeing you turn on the lights, the child pulled himself onto the cot, standing by your waist and peering at you with those big eyes. The kid usually climbed onto your lap if he wanted to play, so it unnerved you a bit to see him just watching you quietly.

“What is it?” you asked.

The kid slowly blinked once before moving closer to you, holding up his tiny hand. You’d seen that look in his eyes before—once, with Din.

You gasped quietly, hissing at the sensation it caused. With all the time you had been unconscious, you had no idea how much the kid had recovered himself. But it couldn’t have been enough for him to safely attempt to heal you.

“No, stop.” You started to move his little hand—you wanted to move him onto the ground but it still hurt anytime you moved your torso.

But the kid reached out once again, responding with another coo—it almost sounded like a cry.

“It’s okay, I—” the sensation of something shifting silenced you. You felt pain—no, just pressure—inside your chest. You looked at the child—he held that furrowed, concentrated look in his eyes—his tiny hand rested on the side of your rib cage. It was the strangest thing you’d ever felt.

You felt your breaths getting deeper, almost as if you could feel your bones releasing the pressure on your lungs, the weight on them somehow getting lighter.

You were so occupied by all of this that you hadn’t heard Din return. 

“When did you wake—” he started to say from behind, but froze when he saw what the child was doing. 

Din walked up to you and the kid, unsure of how to react. You didn’t look up at him, distracted by your own breathing. He said nothing, watching the child incredulously.

You didn’t know how many seconds, or minutes, passed. You were able to take deeper breaths with each inhale, until suddenly, the pain in your chest ceased to exist completely.

Spent, the child fell but remained upright. _How much strength did this kid have in him?_

Din was by your side at once, nuzzling the kid's ear. He placed his other hand on your arm. 

"You're...better?" he asked.

You took a deep breath. Your lungs were full, and gone was the piercing pain.

"Almost like new,” you whispered, not quite understanding it yourself. “He's….saved both of us now, it seems." You looked pointedly at the child, smiling.

Din felt relief entirely overwhelm his body.

He’d faced death himself a few times before. He’d seen his life flash before his eyes. His world had fallen apart in front of him more than once. And all of those times, he’d wondered if a piece of himself had been lost. That was before he’d found something he was afraid to lose.

There was one thing he was sure of now. He wanted you to hear it from his own voice. _His real voice_.

Your eyes widened when you saw Din start to pull up on his helmet.

"Din? What are you doing?" You started to raise your hands to cover your eyes, the yellow hue of the light still peeking through your fingers.

He set the helmet down, trembling as he took your hands in his, gently pulling them away from your face. 

His eyes met yours for the first time—really, truly held their gaze; not hidden away behind a visor. In them, he saw his future. He tenderly squeezed your palms, then your fingers before placing the lightest of kisses on your knuckles, looking into your eyes the whole time. 

" _I love you,_ " he said, resolutely. The words belonged to you all along.

  
  



	13. Thirteen

It took you a moment to process everything that was happening. Din was still kneeling on the ground next to you on the cot, your hands in his. He was silently watching you, unsure of how you would respond.

_I love you_ , he'd said. There was certainty in his voice, but you could see the apprehension in his eyes after he revealed himself to you; as if he were afraid of what you might think.

There were many things Din had questioned throughout his life—whether he'd done the right thing, if he'd made the right choice. But when he'd set his helmet aside just moments earlier, he didn't feel that pit of uncertainty. He felt different. _Lighter_. For a long time he'd done everything for his clan, and while he wouldn't change anything about that now, his clan had grown by two. And since then, he realized he no longer needed to question anything. He no longer had to, nor wanted to, stay hidden in the dark.

You'd gotten a glimpse of him in the past, just a shadow of his features. That day felt like forever ago. You’d insisted on his waiting until he was certain, because you both knew there was no going back. You held his gaze now, taking in everything about him for the first time. It felt odd, as though you should look away; but you knew he wouldn't want you to.

His eyes were strangers to yours, and you didn't quite know how to introduce yourself. This was your first time looking into those dark brown eyes, and yet they held so much affection that your heart might have stopped right then and there. It took everything for you to break eye contact, your eyes tracing over all of him carefully. Unsurprisingly, his undereyes were heavy with lack of sleep. The space between his brows was furrowed with a hint of concern. You gently placed a hand on his face, smoothing your thumb over the area. You moved your fingers through his soft brown hair, which was matted and messy from the helmet. Din said nothing but you felt his eyes watching yours intently.

You moved your hand back down to cup his cheek, his eyes softening in response as he leaned into your touch. You traced your fingers over the scars that lightly covered his skin and the rough bits of facial hair along his jaw that had gone unkempt over the last few days.

Din saw the look in your eyes change as you examined the scars; you’d treated them in the dark before but had never seen the extent of them for yourself. He noticed the slight frown on your lips and moved his own hand to your face, willing you to look at him once more—it worked. _Maker_ , if he’d known it would feel like this to hold your gaze, he might’ve revealed himself a lot sooner. He was sure on that night, many nights ago. But after all of this, he'd never been more certain of anything in his life.

You moved your thumb over his lips, feeling him inhale quietly. Your eyes were still locked on his; he seemed to be patiently waiting for you to say something.

"I—hello," was all you managed to get out. You felt like a fool as soon as you said it.

You saw a flash of confusion on Din’s face at your unexpected choice of words—then his lips twitched in amusement, a gentle but full smile. You'd always imagined how soft the expression would be under the helmet. You noted to yourself how lovely it was, how lucky you were to have the chance to see it. He glanced down at your lips for a split second, then back up to your eyes.

"Hello, _cyar'ika_ ," he replied tenderly, the slightest tremor in his voice. He lowered his hands off your face; you sensed his nervousness.

You gave him a small smile, still in disbelief of everything. You could tell he was trying to analyze your thoughts in this moment, and the look in his eyes told you, _he's sure_. 

_He's handsome_ , you thought to yourself. You wondered if he knew it, or if it even mattered to him to know. 

You took his hand, your fingers intertwining with his. He rubbed small, mindless circles along your skin; as though you were the one who needed reassurance.

"Can I...kiss you?" He murmured. There was a quiet hesitation in his eyes. Uncertainty, maybe. Something about the way he asked made you glance away timidly.

You let out a soft chuckle. "Why not?” you replied in a hushed tone. “You've done it before.”

He took your face lightly in his hands, moving closer to you but still not quite touching. His hands were warm, almost as warm as your face felt.

"Not...like this," he answered, just as softly. He was already so close to you, his lips barely brushing against yours, that you didn't need to bother with a yes. This wasn’t the first time, but it may as well have been.

Closing the distance between you, his lips met yours in one soft kiss before he stopped for a moment, pulling back and meeting your eyes once again. 

You peered at him curiously, wondering what was going through his mind. He was still holding your face in his hands, lightly caressing your skin. The look in his eyes was so intense that you felt completely _seen_ in a way you never had been before. You leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth. 

As you moved away, you whispered into his ear. "I love you, too."

Din went still. _Those words_. The words he’d said in his head countless times now, but never thought he’d hear spoken aloud to him again. Whether he deserved it was another thing, but in all this time, the constant presence of danger had made love come easily for him. Din exhaled quietly and looked at you as though he was somehow holding the galaxy in just two hands. He’d gone for so long being hesitant to touch you; not anymore.

Your heart was racing and you gasped as he pressed his warm lips to yours again, with more urgency than before. His hands moved down to your waist as you pulled him in closer to you, wrapping your arms over his shoulders and joining him on the cold floor of the ship. His lips moved impatiently against yours; these kisses were different from all the ones before—desperate, all-consuming, as though he might lose you. He _had_ almost lost you. You heard him sigh into you each time his mouth left yours. You ran your fingers through his hair, to which he responded by pulling you in even closer than you already were, his chest warm against you and his hands gently moving along your back. He fell slightly backwards at the force of it, making you laugh quietly. You felt him smile against your lips and pulled away just so you could see the look on his face, wanting to remember it always. Tracing your fingers along his jaw, you memorized every contour. 

Din's gaze lingered on yours, and when you finally looked back up at him again, he pressed a light kiss to your forehead, then your cheek, and finally back to your lips once more. You placed your hands on his chest and swore you could feel his heartbeat racing as fast as yours as he kissed you again, much more slowly this time. 

When you finally broke away from each other, he kept a gentle hand on the curve of your neck, not ready to let go. You needed more time to get used to this; the way he looked at you now still made warmth rush into your face. Although, technically, he'd had an unfair advantage—he'd always looked into your eyes while you'd only ever been able to imagine through the visor of his helmet.

Strands of your hair had fallen into your face and Din neatly pushed it away, tucking it behind your ear. You were pretty much in his lap now, not that he minded. He leaned forward and softly pressed his forehead to yours, the way he'd done many times before; only, it felt different now. You didn't move, feeling his warm breaths on your skin and resting a hand on the back of his head, and just being with him.

You pulled away, readjusting yourself. He kept a hand on your back as you combed your fingers through his hair. You took in the sight of him—hair disheveled, eyes somewhat in a daze—before he pulled you into a snug embrace. He rested his chin on your shoulder, wrapping his arms around your waist; he was always so careful with you.

It was funny; he wasn’t wearing a single piece of armor right now, but you’d never felt safer. 

You weren’t sure if he was talking to you or thinking out loud when you heard him speak again, a breathless whisper.

“ _Never again_ ,” he said.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter - but there will be an epilogue!


	14. Epilogue

_**A few years later** _

~

Din’s still groggy when he opens his eyes. It's typically quiet in the mornings, save for your occasional sleepy murmurs. He’s always awake before you—old habits die hard. The sun's light has barely started to peek through the window, so the bedroom is covered in a faint and shadowed golden hue. You’re curled up with your back to his bare chest and your body is pressed against his; he can feel each of your quiet breaths and it almost lulls him back to sleep. You're lying on one of his arms, his other one is over your waist, holding you close—he feels you stir a little as you start to wake. He presses a soft, lazy kiss to the back of your head as he moves his arm off you. He nuzzles even closer into your shoulder, always wanting to be as close as possible. His hand moves slowly from the space above your waist down along your hip, then down to your thigh, where he rests his palm and traces small circles on your skin with his thumb.

The movement is innocent, but it still sends a tingle up your spine. Your eyes are still closed and you're only half awake, but you reach up behind you and place a gentle hand on his face, feeling the roughness of his facial hair. He hums in response and puts his own hand over yours, his fingers lacing into yours. A few more minutes pass before you're fully awake and you turn over to face him. He has a lazy, relaxed look in his eyes as he softly smiles at you. His hair is messy from a good night's sleep. His eyelids are still heavy but he's looking at you with that same expression you'll never get used to.

"Good morning, _cyar'ika_ ," he says quietly. He cups your face in his hand and runs his thumb along your cheek, the sensation making your heart soften.

"Hello," you murmur, leaning in to kiss the stubble on his jaw. "You should let this grow out," you whisper playfully.

He smirks at the suggestion. "I'm not sure that would be a good look for me," he answers.

"Nonsense," you reply. "You would look just as handsome as you do now." He responds with a quiet chuckle and a kiss to your forehead, then presses his own forehead to yours. When you move away, you take in his sleepy appearance. The look on his face is lovely and kind, but only you know this; you make sure to tell him every chance you get. His hand still cradles your face and his thumb brushes along your lower lip. 

You'd like to stay in bed like this all day, but you don't have to regret starting the day soon—it's the beauty of being able to spend most mornings like this.

He drapes his arm back over your waist and runs his hand along the small of your back. The weight of him on you makes you feel safe. Your hand moves from the curve of his neck down to his chest, your fingers tracing over some of the scars there that have long since healed.

Din watches you with a tiny smile on his lips. He cherishes the little things; the smell of your hair, how soft your skin is, the way you snuggle into both him and the blanket whenever you’re not quite ready to get out of bed every morning. He doesn’t remember how he lived on his own before you filled in the empty space, but that was long ago and it doesn’t matter now.

It’s not until you hear the child starting to coo from his crib in the room next door that you both start to sit up, stretching the last night away. 

You sit with your legs folded and take Din’s hand, examining the bandages you’d put on for him before bed. He’d been fixing up the gate to the small garden outside and accidentally put a gash into his hand. Reaching over to the stand beside the bed, you grab the solution and fresh gauze to change the dressing again.

He observes quietly as you peel off the old bandages and apply the new one.

“I can’t help but think this is how we met,” you tease. 

“It really wasn’t a serious injury,” he contemplates. “I could’ve handled it myself.” He doesn’t add, _but then I would never have met you_. 

You grin at the comment. “With the lighter?” you ask, finishing up what you’re doing and cutting the extra gauze off. “I’m glad you know how to care for your wounds a bit better now.”

 _He knows how to care for a lot of things now_ , Din thinks to himself as he watches your fingers brushing lightly over his skin. It's moments like this where he almost wishes he was still shielded by the helmet; his eyes soften and his skin flushes and he knows his eyes give him away every time. 

He’s thought of that day often. Particularly, how he had chosen to leave the Crest in search of supplies, instead of toughing it out like he usually did. How he had taken that specific path at that exact time, and how that ended up with him meeting you. He hates how cliché it sounds, but he thanks the Maker and the stars for having everything align perfectly that day. 

You let go of his hand when you're done and put the supplies aside, but he takes it back again, guiding your fingers to his lips and pressing a light kiss to your knuckles. You eye him with wonder, but he says nothing and pulls you in for a short embrace before you both start the day, his hand trailing softly along your back. You can't help but think of how he’d gone without touch and affection for so long, and press a feather-light kiss to his shoulder.

~

Your cottage is cozy; it’s tucked neatly away in a quiet forest surrounded by trees and so much green. Carefully-placed flower beds and plants surround the whole space, and vines grow freely along the walls. The grass is some of the softest you’ve ever felt; it’s perfect for the little one to play in. There’s a small village across the stream nearby and, for the most part, it has everything you need.

On days where you’re both feeling up to it, you make the trek to the village, a basket in hand, to pick up anything you like. Sometimes it’s something to replenish your med kit, other times it’s simply all the ingredients you need for a meal you’re both craving.

For someone who’s spent so long working on his ship, Din has a fondness for being in the garden, much to the little one’s excitement. A gate allows the kid to wander around freely while Din meticulously tends to his outdoor projects; you watch with a smile on your face as the little one plays in the plants, attempting to help him.

Whenever there’s a job to be done, Din cleans his weapons and dons the beskar just as before. More often than not you join him, in search of anyone who may need your help on the many planets you visit. But once it’s all done, he has no trouble brushing away the dirt and dust and carefully putting it aside until the next time.

Each day passes by with a certain amount of peace that was once hard to come by. For you, it’s peace of mind. For Din, it's peace that lights his way home. 

When there’s nothing else to be done for the day, you spread out a thin blanket on the grass outside and sit back, watching the little one play for a while. There’s an abundance of small creatures for him to chase here, and he likes to hide in the patches of colorful flowers that grow taller than he is. Din lies with his head in your lap; you quietly play with his hair as he watches the child coo happily and wobble around.

Din looks up at you—you’re watching the child as well, a content look on your face. The sun has started to set and he feels his heart soften at the way the light falls on you. Much time has passed but he’s still in awe of the fact that he gets to be with you like this. You laugh at something the child does and he relishes the sound of it, a smile on his own face.

Nights are gentle, peaceful. There are trees all around your small home but also several perfect spots he's found, where there are gaps that open up to the sky and you can see all the stars for as long as you'd like. He finds himself thinking of the vastness of the space that surrounds him, and how he was once just as empty at the core—he wraps his arm around you even tighter. You don’t know what’s on his mind, but you hug him tight all the same.

You walk back towards the cottage, Din’s hand in yours and the kid in your other arm. Leaves crinkle under your footsteps and the sounds of nocturnal creatures come to life. The cottage door isn’t all that big; Din's so tall that he has to crouch a little to get through. You’ve suggested getting it fixed but it’s never bothered him.

There's a certain feeling he gets whenever he enters the cottage, one that he never quite felt on the Razor Crest. Your home was filled with love from the start; it had never seen war, nor did it know of the scars its owners carried. It's small, and yet it holds more love within its walls than he's known for a good part of his life. He had only known walls of steel, and they were nothing like this.

You clean up in the refresher after a long day and he does the same. A little smile plays on his lips next to you in the foggy mirror and you look at him curiously. He doesn’t answer in so many words, just notices the soft look in your eyes and the way you’re wearing your most comfortable clothes— _you’re beautiful_ , he sometimes tells you out of nowhere, if only so he can see the way you smile, a quiet shyness in your eyes.

Din hears a gurgle from the ground and looks down to see the little one with his arms up, ready to be held. He chuckles softly and lifts him up, cradling him in one arm. You rub his big green ears before Din goes to put him down for bed. 

The child’s cooing goes quiet and is replaced by silence; he’s asleep far before you are. Only the sounds of footsteps echo through your home as you both go back to your room and climb into bed. 

The covers are cool and welcoming as you both settle in for the night. The bed is so soft and plush that it’s now much harder for either of you to be comfortable with the cots on the Crest, as you once used to be. You lay facing him and he moves in close enough to wrap his whole arm over your body, his skin warm against you. The room is mostly dark; only the smallest bit of moonlight shines through in the darkness. Din can just barely see the outlines of your delicate features—he smiles at the irony of it. The dark has always been his safe place with you. 

He pulls the thin blanket up over your shoulders when you shudder from the chill that accompanies some nights. For a while you both lie there in comfortable silence, his hand occasionally moving along your skin as you focus on nothing except the rising and falling of his chest against you. It’s a familiar thing, all of this, and yet your stomach still flutters.

There’s something about the way you hold each other—the way only two people who are now strangers to loneliness would; two people who have finally found their way home.

"What are you thinking of?" You ask after a while as he traces his fingers up and down your back, knowing he’s not close to sleeping yet.

His love for you is quiet and understated; but he was never one for many words anyways, and your shared language has always been a silent one. 

"I never thought I could have this," is all he says, softly. He feels his own heart swell. It's not the first time he's told you, and it won't be the last.

"Nor did I," you whisper back. He knows you mean it as a reminder; that he’s not the only one who’s holding the world in his arms—but he can hardly believe it sometimes. You run your soft hand up and down along the bare skin of his abdomen, and for a moment he wonders how you could possibly love him as much as he does you. The only thing he knows is that he can never get enough.

He cups your face in his hand and leans down to leave a warm kiss on your lips.

He pulls you close as you shut your eyes, enveloping you in his warmth. Sometimes he holds you so tight that you feel like his whole body is practically on yours, but you don't mind. 

His mind is calm as he listens to your quiet breaths that sometimes turn into light snores. You fall asleep before he does; you always do. He lightly strokes your hair with his fingers until he eventually falls asleep too.

Some nights are longer, when he dreams of darker things of the past. It doesn't happen often anymore, but when it does you're woken up before he is from the stirring. No words have to be shared; you simply bury yourself further into his chest and tuck your head into the space under his jaw, wrapping your arm over his torso as he pulls you in closer. It's close enough that he can feel your heartbeat, and he listens to the rhythm until he feels at peace again. He’s been able to put aside his armor, but the fear he used to know still lingers. He often kisses the top of your head, exhaling softly in relief that you're here, safe. And he's safe, too—there's no safer place in the galaxy when he has you in his arms. _You’re all safe_ , he tells himself. _Nothing and no one will hurt you, not anymore_.

" _Cyar'e_ ," he'd breathe softly into your hair. 

"I'm here," you'd whisper back. "I love you."

It’s not always fear alone that keeps the Mandalorian up at night. The Creed has given him a lot to carry; and while he’s done it well, even the strongest shoulders start to get worn down after a while. He doesn't always fall asleep again, especially on nights when the weight feels heavier than usual. Still, he finds comfort in you—your head on his chest, your warmth on his skin, the way you nestle in closer when he tells you he loves you—and that's all he needs to come back to himself again.

Other nights are lighter, when you're tangled in each other's arms and your fingers are entwined with his, pressing his hands into the bed. When his arms are gently wrapped around you and all you feel is his warmth and nothing else, you look into his eyes and feel completely safe and sound. When he feels your skin against his, with your quiet breaths and soft whispers into his shoulder, he knows he never had a chance to begin with; he had fallen deep long ago, and was always a goner. 

After, you lie in his arms with an arm over his chest and he softly brushes the stray locks of hair out of your face. He whispers sweet nothings into your ear, running his palm along your skin; you smile at how he's still always so careful with you. It’s a while before either of you doze off, and often there’s nothing but the sound of his quiet, soft kisses on your lips until his gentle caresses along the back of your head finally puts you to sleep.

~

One morning when you're back at the cottage after another completed job, you quietly help Din out of his armor. The little one has just barely fallen asleep in your arms and you carefully put him down in his pod, tucking him in. 

Din removes his helmet, brushing his plastered-down hair out of his face.

“Hello again,” you say softly as he walks over to you and puts his arms around your waist. But other words linger on your lips, and you're antsy to get them out.

“Hello, _cyar’ika_ ,” he answers, gentle amusement in his eyes. You bring his face down and his lips meet yours in a short but passionate kiss. You feel him smile against your mouth as he pulls away, his hands lingering at your sides.

“We should be careful, or we’ll wake him,” he warns teasingly, nodding towards the pod.

“Luckily I’m good at getting him to sleep,” you answer, hoping your voice doesn't betray you.

“He’s lucky to have you,” Din agrees.

Truthfully, you had something more to tell him regarding the matter. You hadn't figured it out until you were on the Crest on some other planet, and that was hardly a good time to bring it up. 

“Din?” you ask, looking up at him as he watches the child lovingly.

“Yes?” He notices the look in your eyes shift and senses your hesitation. “What is it?” he adds when you don’t answer after a few seconds.

“What do you think of us being a clan of four?” you ask quietly.

He peers down at the child and doesn’t catch your meaning at first. “You mean clan of…" he turns his head back to you. "Wait—"

You’re looking at him timidly, though you don’t know why. You've imagined this conversation quite a few times already, but not knowing how he would react has made you a bit antsy.

“Are you...?” he murmurs, unable to find the words. He takes your hands, holding them up to his chest, waiting for you to stop his rambling.

“Yes,” you whisper, a nervous smile on your lips.

"You mean we're going...I'm going to be…" he stammers, and you chuckle with relief before giving him a nod.

A moment passes as he processes the words, then you watch as his eyes crinkle and his expression turns from disbelief to joy. He lets go of your hands and cradles your face before leaning down to meet you in a soft kiss. You wrap your arms around him and he embraces you with all the warmth a person can possibly imagine.

The feeling overcomes him and he unexpectedly lifts you off the ground, spinning you around once before setting you down again.

For a moment, he's worried. He thinks of the little green one and that day on Nevarro, how wholly unprepared he was to handle things. But it passes quickly in a blur, and he remembers that you were an unexpected addition to his life, too.

“A clan of four,” he repeats, and his voice almost cracks. His heart goes soft at the thought of it, and at the thought of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this series! It holds a special place in my heart and I'm so grateful for all of the kind words and comments you've left me - I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)
> 
> This is technically where the series ends, so all the chapters you'll see after this one are little "slices of life" that I wanted to write for them. Enjoy!


	15. Prequel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How reader learns the Mandalorian's name. A prequel to the series

Din sits hunched over in the pilot’s seat of the Razor Crest, half awake but not by choice. The child sleeps soundly in the pod next to him, and presumably you’re doing the same in the small sleeping nook you have down in the hull of the ship. The soft whirring noises behind the metal walls fill the silence, although the silence hasn’t been the same now that he knows there’s more than one body on the ship these days. He’s been sitting here alone for a while now, long enough to watch the smoldering colors of twilight become replaced by millions of stars that light up the dark sky on this unfamiliar planet.

Today—and this last job really—has been a long one. He sustained a few more injuries than usual this time, ones that have left his body aching even more than he’s used to. Not for the first time, he’s grateful to have a healer with him, despite how reluctant he is to accept help of any sort. He’s only known you for a few weeks now, but already he’s noticed himself feeling a bit more at ease when in your presence—although maybe that’s part of your job, what you’re trained to do. Early on, there were many times where he’d questioned his decision to let you stay with him and the child, despite your insistence on wanting to do so. It’s not so much that he perceives you as a threat—not of the physical kind, anyways—but he’s almost afraid. One can get too used to being alone, and he’s long since been in that state of mind. Allowing someone else to be around, that’s a risk, one that can’t be calculated. He knows well that he’s not truly safe anywhere, so he’s been distant at best. Someday, you’ll decide to leave, and it’ll be easier this way for both of you.

But you don’t seem to mind. He’s watched you bandage him up, silently rearranging one thing or patching up another. And he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t find you mesmerizing. He knows he’s not the most captivating person to talk to—he’s not much of a companion—but you always quietly do your work, tending to his mild scratches and bruises without saying much, unless he offers something first. Really, he’s felt guilty because he hasn’t let you do much of your job at all, insisting that most of his wounds have been minor enough to heal on their own. And you’ve been okay with this—just nodding your head as you leave your supplies next to him after cleaning him up and going off to care for the child while he tends to the rest of his injuries alone. You’ve never questioned anything about him, simply accepting what he gives and not asking for anything more. In many ways, he thinks you ought to be someplace else, living a life that makes you content. You hadn’t hesitated when he asked you to stay on with him—and the kid. Maybe you don’t know all that his lifestyle entails; not yet at least. You don’t know what it costs.

Din rubs his hand around his wrists, massaging the tender, bruised areas that cover the entirety of his arms. It’s just a few twisted muscles and several large bruises, you’d told him. He’d taken a hard hit; the throbbing pain is an unwelcome reminder. He hopes that someday he can get used to having another person fixing him up, but for now it’s been strange for him. He’s been left to bear the weight of his choices, mental and physical, on his own for a long time. Part of the burden has always included the physical toll the job leaves on his body. How does he willingly allow someone else to carry some of this for him if he ought to carry it alone?

A quiet sound breaks him from the reverie, his hand instinctively going to his blaster before he realizes it’s just the child stirring next to him, still fast asleep. You haven’t been around that long but he knows the kid would be hard-pressed to watch you go, if you ever decide to leave—if this life doesn’t work for you. _Does it work for anybody?_ At least you have the freedom to choose to leave, should you want to do so.

He leans back in the hard seat, forcing himself to let go of the tension he’s holding his shoulders. It’s always hard for him to find sleep. Even in slumber he can’t find a quiet mind. Having someone around to free some of his burdens _should_ make it easier to rest his thoughts, but for some reason the opposite is true when it concerns you.

~

Din’s groggy as he opens his eyes, straightening his neck and back and immediately flinching at the pain that shoots up his arm. He lets out a muffled groan behind the helmet, trying to rub the searing pain away. One look at the controls tells him he’d only dozed off for a short while. He glances at the child, content to find that he’s still fast asleep.

Looking back up at the stars, Din leans back in the seat and lets out a deep, tired breath.

It’s a little while longer when he hears the soft footsteps behind him, hollow echoes of the metal floor resonating with each movement. Footsteps that aren’t his own are still a strange sound on the Razor Crest—especially ones that don’t seem to carry the same unforgiving weight.

“Mando?” you whisper, filling the silence with your lulling voice, the one Din hasn’t quite gotten used to yet. He’s heard that nickname for most of his life, but somehow it doesn’t sound quite right when it comes from you. He knows your name but you don’t know his—you’ve never asked, and he’s never told you otherwise. His nickname has never been anything more than something to go by, simply for convenience of the job and stamping on a protection for his identity. It labels the warrior but not the human underneath the resilience of the armor. 

He turns around in his seat to face you, the pain in his body revealing itself once again with the movement. “Are you alright?” he asks, knowing you should be asleep, too. He makes note of the lines under your eyes, the ones that have been there for a while now. For a moment, he’s afraid—afraid of what he expects—that soon you’ll get tired of all this, deciding it’s too much and wanting to leave. What an unusual feeling it is for him; he wants you to do what’s best for you, but he’s also mildly fearful that it’s too much, that you’ll leave sooner than he's prepared for. Why this thought bothers him, he doesn’t know. You just might be able to take what’s left of him with you, if you do go.

“I’m sorry—I thought I heard the child stirring...I was going to take him with me so he wouldn’t wake you, too.”

He says nothing, simply shaking his head in understanding.

“You can’t sleep,” you whisper observantly. It’s not a question, but a repetition of what you already know well—he’s not remotely surprised that you’re attuned to more than just the physical things. 

Din replies with a single nod. 

“It’s because of your injuries, isn’t it?” you ask softly. “They’re hurting you.”

Reluctantly, he nods again. _Is it the injuries? Yes and no,_ he thinks to himself.

Pursing your lips, your eyes drop to the ground. “I’m sorry that I don’t have anything else for that—I usually always have some on me...but I’ve never used it up so fast…” you murmur, trailing off. You’ve never had to dip into your medicinal supply quite so often in the past. “The next time we stop somewhere—”

Din shakes his head. “Don’t apologize,” he whispers.

“Well, at least let me try to help now,” you offer, holding out your hand.

“You don’t have to—”

“You realize that’s what I’m here to do, right?” you cut him off, a light smile on your lips. He almost forgets what you’re saying right then and there, lost in your compassionate yet teasing expression.

“I know, but it’s late and you should be—” he protests.

“And I won’t be able to sleep knowing you’re not well,” you insist, putting a hand on your hip.

All you hear is a breathy sigh through his modulator, which you take as a hesitant agreement. Quietly, you sit down on the small crate next to his seat, holding out a hand again, patiently. It’s a few moments before Din lets you take his arm, which you’d carefully wrapped up earlier when he’d returned to the ship, all but collapsing into his seat. 

He flinches at how delicately you take his heavy arm in your hands, still unused to such a gentle form of contact. The vambrace comes off with ease, and you set it aside without breaking contact with him. Your fingers brush along his wrist and for a moment he almost pulls away out of instinct, until he realizes you’re only readjusting his sleeve over his skin, smoothing out the wrinkles as though they’ll disappear that easily. You glance at him when you notice the way his gloved hand has slightly clenched into a fist.

You grimace in response, thinking you'd touched a sensitive spot and not wanting to hurt him any further. “Sorry—I’ll be careful,” you tell him, examining it with your adept fingers. He watches you do your thing, your brows wrinkled in concentration. He knows that look so well—the exhaustion that never seems to be defeated. And the way the stars cast a subtle glow on your face—it’s almost ethereal. The stars and the vast space they reside in have never been anything but a reminder of his own isolation—how confounding it is that they could mean anything else. He swallows, forcefully pushing the thought away immediately before his mind can get ahead of itself.

Gently, you put pressure on the knotted up parts of his arm, and he lets out a muffled hiss in response. But then, slowly, the pain starts to dissipate. Whatever you’re doing makes the dull throbbing almost fade to nothing, and not for the first time, he’s in awe of you. You make your way down his arm, all the way to his leather-covered hand, resting the back of it in your palm.

His gaze is unwavering and his heart beats faster, though you can’t tell. He glances again at your quickly-working hands, the ones that heal—then looks back to his own, still-gloved hands, the calloused ones that carry all the evidence of his sins.

“You get into these scuffles a lot, don’t you?” you suddenly ask, under your breath. You look at him, your hand still cradling his. 

He gives you a single nod, wishing he had more words to offer. “It’s...part of the job,” he mutters.

Just as abruptly, he’s worried again. He’s back in that obscure, out-of-the-way village where he first met you, wounded and needing help but unable to accept any. _You’re safe with me_ , you’d told him. When anyone and anything can be a threat, trust is a luxury. He knows he’s not safe anywhere, but the closest he’s felt like it has been with you.

You let go of his hand, bringing him back to the present.

“Is there anything else I can do?” you ask, standing up but lingering in front of him. 

“No, I...thank you.” He stammers, hoping you don’t pick up on the sudden fragility in his voice.

“Okay, then...I’ll leave you to it, Mando. Try to get some rest?” Din feels a tinge in his chest at the subtly pleading tone in your voice. You rub the child’s ear before stepping out of the cockpit.

“Din.” He whispers, so softly you almost miss it.

“What?” You stop, turning to face him again.

“My name. It’s Din. Djarin.” He murmurs with a shaky breath.

A soft smile forms on your lips, and Din hasn’t felt this at ease in a long time. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Din Djarin.”


	16. Repose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little slice-of-life that takes place sometime between the last chapter and the epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this story is technically complete, but I will continue to add slices-of-life as I write them!

Din hardly knows what time it is now, but he finally makes his way to his sleeping quarters. It’s been a long day for him, and maybe even longer for you.

He finds you exactly where he expects you—curled up into a small ball on your side of the bed. The child sleeps beside you, deep in slumber and in complete bliss despite his parents’ long day. You’re out cold and completely silent; only your rising and falling shoulders are any indication of your current state. For a moment Din stands still, watching the two of you quietly with a feeling of softness in his chest. 

Shutting the door behind him, his helmet comes off and a soft sigh of relief falls from his lips as he sheds the rest of the heavy armor. He groans and stretches, feeling lighter in more ways than one. 

As gently as he can, Din climbs into the bed behind you, the mattress dipping down as he does. Even more carefully, he moves in closer to you, until his body is pressed against yours. You make no movement in response as he rests his head on your pillow so that your head is tucked into the crook of his neck. He drapes his arm over your waist, taking care not to wake you, although he knows that’s not likely. He knows when you need to rest, no matter how stubborn you are about it. 

For a while he lies there, tired but wide awake, silently listening to your quiet breathing and savoring the warmth he feels from having your sleeping form in his arms, with not a single bit of space between you. Insomnia has never been a stranger to him, but he’ll gladly deal with it if it means he gets to be at your side like this for that much longer. He’d gone too long trying to suppress his feelings to waste anymore time now.

More time passes before Din finally feels himself dozing off. Before he’s out completely, he presses a small kiss to the back of your head, exhaling contently as his eyes close and the comforting feeling starts to envelope him.

A few moments later he feels you shift in his arms, turning over to face him. He readjusts his position accordingly, still keeping you close and moving his hand along your back. You’re still unconscious but soundlessly nuzzle impossibly closer into him, resting your cheek on his chest. Din doesn’t open his eyes, but warmth floods his chest at the motion. The feeling of you burying yourself into him in search of comfort, even in a deep sleep, makes his heart swell. He’s still not used to it—the idea that he is to you what you are to him. He rests his chin above your head, but presses his lips to your forehead first. Pulling the blanket up over you both, he lets himself find rest. The last thing he thinks of is how he never thought he would know love like this, but he thanks the Maker every day for it.


	17. The Dust of the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din prepares to be in a clan of four.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after the epilogue

The grass is soft beneath his soles as Din walks off the ship and back towards the cottage. He’s only been gone for the day—some minor business to take care of with Greef and the others—but any amount of time away from home, from you, is much too long for him. Especially now, when this clan of three will soon be a clan of four.

_Clan of four_. The mere thought of those words still causes a swelling in his chest, a skipped beat for the life he never imagined he would get to have. He starts to walk a little faster, eager to get home. Nighttime fell several hours ago, and a slight chill cuts through the air as he makes his way back to you. His hand rests near his holster as he treks down the well-worn path—just muscle memory. There’s no threat in the darkness anymore, not here.

He reaches the front of the cottage and is about to open the door when he hears a quiet laugh—yours—coming from the other side of your home, where the garden meets the rest of the large trees. Your voice is a medicine for his soul, for every rough edge and hidden crevice; it’s been as much since before he even realized you had any hold on him. He doesn’t need to see you or the kid to know you’re both outside in your favorite spot, where there’s a wide clearing above the trees and you can see the expanse of unobstructed sky right above you. He imagines the little one’s happy giggles while he rests in your arms, his features softening at the visual. His heart seems to beat a bit faster, though he had only left you this morning.

Din quietly turns the knob and goes inside, shedding the gloves and heavy helmet for the first time today, but not bothering with the rest as he quickly grabs a blanket and goes back outside to you.

As he walks up behind you, you don’t turn around and he can’t see the kid yet, but he hears the little one coo as you tell him that his father’s home.

“It’s late, you should be inside—” Din says softly as he drapes the thick blanket over you, moving to sit down beside you on the ground.

He doesn’t get to finish fussing because he’s caught off guard by the sight of the kid—he’s in your lap, with his small hand on your stomach, your shirt being pulled just up enough to expose the very small bump that’s starting to show. The kid coos as he gently pats your bare skin, and you have the most serene look in your eyes as you smile down at him.

Whatever Din was thinking about seconds earlier is now nothing but an afterthought as he watches you both, silent but completely enamored as he takes in the sight of the swell of your stomach for the first time. Your usual wardrobe consists of baggier layers, and it’s so early on that despite his watchful eye, it hadn’t been noticeable until now. The corners of his mouth lift into a tiny smile and he has to hold back the tears that seem to appear out of nowhere.

For a moment, Din feels a prick of fear in his chest—a muffling feeling that he won’t be able to do enough, be enough. But it’s nothing more than a residual thorn from the past, and the thought passes much more quickly than it used to.

“Welcome back, my love,” you murmur as you look away from the child and finally meet his eyes. He’d known your eyes long before you knew his, yet he still gets lost in them every time. Din remains speechless, simply leaning in to press a kiss to your forehead.

As he pulls away, you look into those deep brown eyes and feel your heart swell two sizes at the way he looks at you, a soft smile on his lips. After all this time you still have an instinct to shy away at his gaze, the one you didn’t get to properly meet for so long—the one you’re so familiar with now. Years of a hard life chiseled away at some of the softness in his eyes, and in his face, but much of it still remains. The warmth is still there, enveloping you completely just on first glance. He’s handsome; you remind him of this all the time, but he often averts his eyes when you tell him the stars are nothing compared to everything he is to you.

You don’t know what’s on his mind now, but with his gentle eyes still on yours, he takes your face in his hand, running his thumb along the curve of your cheek. His gaze traces carefully over every detail of your features, but he doesn’t miss the way you’re looking at him now, your eyes soft and full of love.

He knows that look too well, even when you don’t say a word.

_Are you going to kiss me or are we going to be here forever?_

He cradles your face and leans down to meet your lips, but drops his hand when the kid suddenly coos again, impatiently waiting for attention as you both break away from each other, chuckling as you look down at him. The kid’s tiny hand still rests on your stomach, and you catch the way Din watches the little but growing bump.

When he’d first found out about the fourth member of the clan, Din had been beside himself with joy. But you also saw the insecurity and concern in his eyes, well before he’d shared it with you.

_You don’t need to worry about being a good father, Din,_ you’d told him. _You already are one._

Wordlessly, you take Din’s hand in your own and gently place it on your stomach, and he hopes you don’t hear the quiet hitch of his breath as his hand grazes your soft skin, coming to rest next to the little one’s hand. He feels several things all at once—apprehension and worry, both of which are hardwired instincts that come and go—sometimes in sleep he’s brought back to the times he didn’t feel he was enough, the times he’d almost lost the kid. But it’s during those times that he wakes up next to you, and he’s reminded that he’d do it all again without a second thought. He’s not alone anymore—he has you.

But most of all, what he feels is...happiness—wholly and completely. It’s no longer a fleeting, misplaced thing. It hasn’t been in a long time. Not when he has two loves of his life, soon to be three.

Din savors this moment for a bit more, until a gust of wind comes through, making you shiver. He immediately moves his hand away and wraps the blanket more securely over your shoulders as you pull your shirt back down.

“You two really should’ve been inside—” he whispers under his breath as you lean into him.

“We’ve been in worse weather than a clear night with a slight breeze, Din,” you tease. He encircles you with his arms, strong and supportive. The vambrace feels cold against your skin, but you don’t say anything. Din’s been extra protective of you lately—not that you’ve been in harm’s way—but you can hardly convince him of that, and you’re not particularly surprised. You don’t have to look into his worried eyes to know he’s thinking of all the times he’d almost lost you, or the kid, and how he won’t risk leaving anything to chance because of it. He’s been glued to your side, keeping a cautious eye on any strangers you come across, a careful hand along your back whenever you walk on a rocky path. If you so much as mention something you need to do, you find it’s already been done.

There have been times where you've met the hunter in him again. There was a small incident when you’d gone to the market in the village recently—the little one stayed with Din in his satchel while you’d wandered off alone in search of a particular snack for the two of them, a hand cradling your very subtle bump, which was really only noticeable to you at the time. A large, rowdy man had come out of the cantina, carelessly shoving people aside to get to the front of the line you were in. He’d thrown out a slew of obscenities when he roughly bumped into you, making you lose your balance—but Din had been there in a heartbeat, steadying you with one tender hand, the other ready to put the man in his place. The people around you had gone quiet, watching as the stoic Mandalorian glared down at the man, ready to pull out the blaster if he needed to. Luckily, nothing had happened and the drunken man was mindful enough to know who he was dealing with, but it was then that you knew Din’s head was back in those moments where he had everything to lose.

The chirping of small creatures in the grass brings you back to him now. “Besides, you know he loves being out here and seeing the stars,” you add, glancing down at the kid again.

Din looks up at the sky, taking in the bright fragments of light scattered across the whole dark space. He remembers having the same view from the pilot’s seat of the Crest, years ago, only they felt a lot more distant than they do now. He doesn’t quite have the right words to describe it, the way the night’s sky used to be nothing more than a reminder of his solitude, a display of the vastness of the universe around him as he sat alone on his ship; the way looking up at them would bring a moment of reprieve from the day’s burdens, yet nothing more than that. But that was long ago, a melancholy of the past. The things that used to bring him darkness now leave behind stars.

“How did today go?” you ask when he stays quiet for a while. “Did you get into any scuffles I need to take care of?”

“Nothing too bad,” he replies. “And I’m fine, _cyar’ika,_ I took care of it myself,” he adds, resting his hands on your shoulders when you start to sit up and inspect for yourself. When you chuckle and shake your head dubiously, Din pulls up his sleeve and confidently shows you the neat wrapping of clean bandages around his forearm, a small but proud grin on his face.

“You’re getting good at this,” you tell him, an amused smile on your face as you run your fingers along his arm, satisfied with his handiwork. “You trying to take my job, Din?” you tease, turning away and resting your head on the space above his shoulder.

“Never,” he tells you, and you can hear the smirk on his face. He presses his lips to the top of your head, lingering there for a few moments before moving away and hugging you tighter.

He rests his chin on the top of your head and you stay in his arms a little longer, the two of you quietly talking about nothing in particular as you gaze up at the scattered constellations. The child falls asleep in your arms shortly after, the same way he always does.

After some time Din notices you’ve grown silent and looks down to find you’ve dozed off yourself. He smiles to himself as he watches both of you in a blissful state of peace. _You’re breathtaking_ , he thinks to himself. If he had nothing else in the world but what was in his arms at this moment, he would continue to be a content man.

The kid starts to stir sleepily in your arms, and Din takes it as a cue to go back inside, back home, with you. He stands, effortlessly lifting you up with him, and carries you both back to the warmth indoors.

The wooden floors creak quietly under his steps as Din carefully makes his way to the bedroom, doing his best not to make a sound. Once he sets you down on the bed he gently picks up his son and goes to place him into the crib in his room, lightly rubbing his ear as he whispers a gentle _good night_ before returning to your room. Finally, Din removes the rest of the beskar and stretches his muscles, though the weight of it isn’t particularly heavy these days.

Once some fresh clothes are on he gently climbs into bed and tucks himself in behind you, the plush bedding soft and welcoming. He tugs the thick, warm blanket over both of you, wrapping his arm over your waist. He pulls you in until you’re snug against him, in the same place you find yourself every night. You instinctively nestle into the crook of his neck and he places another kiss onto the top of your head, burying his face into your hair. He relishes the moment; your warmth, the comfort you bring, and the way your body fits perfectly against his.

“Good night, _cyar’ika_ ,” Din whispers. He traces his fingers over the curve of your stomach again. “And good night, Baby Djarin,” he adds after a moment, even more softly.

At that, you shift a little, entwining your fingers with his and moving closer into him, barely awake.

“You’ve really gotta stop calling it ‘Baby Djarin’,” you reply, slightly groggily, and Din can hear the smile in your voice.

Not for the first time, he silently thanks the stars for the amount of love he’s been able to give and receive. The last thing he hears is the quietly murmured _I love you_ —yours, or his, or probably both, whispered in hushed tones in that delicate space before unconsciousness—and then he’s just as easily asleep as you are.


End file.
